LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 
SAN 


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102.8 


KING  RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS 
SEVEN  QUEENS 


THE  CEREMONIOUS  ENTRY  OF  THE  "  LADY  OF  THE  CREST  "  SAUMUR 
TOURNAMENT  1446 

From  "Le  Livre  des  Tournois  "     Painted  by  King  Rend 


KING  RENE  D'ANJOU 

AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 


BY 

EDGGUMBE    STALEY 

AUTHOR  OF 

'  LORDS  AND  LADIES  OP  THE  ITALIAN  LAKES,"  "GUILDS  OF  FLORENCE."  "FAIR  WOMEN  OF 
FLORENCE,"  "TRAGEDIES  OF  THE  MEDICI,"  "DOGARESSAS  OF  VENICE," 
"HEROINES  OF  GENOA  AND  THE  RIVIERAS,"  ETC. 


WITH  COLOURED  FRONTISPIECE  AND  THIRTY-FIVE 
OTHER  ILLUSTRATIONS 


"FIDES  VITAT  SERVATA" 

King  Rene's  Motto 


LONDON 
JOHN    LONG,    LIMITED 

NORRIS  STREET,  HAYMARKET 
MCMXII 


TO 

MY  BROTHER  VERNON 

AND 

HIS  WIFE  ETHEL 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTORY — KING 

PAGES 

King  Rene's  titles — His  character — A  beau-ideal  Prince — His  occupations 
— His  work  as  an  artist — Visits  to  Italy — Scrivani — ' '  The  Burning 
Bush" — "Souls  in  Purgatory" — "La  Divina  Gommedia  " — "St. 
Madeleine  preaching" — "Preces  Prse" — "Pas  d'Armes" — "Livres 
des  Heures" — Rene's  literary  work— "  Regnault  et  Jehanneton" — 
"Mortifiement  de  Vaine  Plaisance" — "La  Conquete  de  la  Doulce 
Mercy  " — "  L'Abuze  en  Court  " — "  Le  Tracte  des  Tournois  " — Charles 
d'Anjou-Orleans — Dance  songs — Letters — Collections,  books,  curios, 
etc. — Work  as  a  craftsman — Orders  and  Gxiilds — Agricultural  tastes — 
The  rose  de  Provence — Workshops — "  Les  Comptes  de  Roy  Rene" — La 
Cheminee  du  Roy — Intercourse  with  his  people — A  troubadour  King 
— Relics — A  famous  winecup  •  17 — 29 

CHAPTER  II 
YOLANDA  D'ARKAGONA— i. 

A    Queen    in    labour — Natural    children — Princess    Juanita — "La    Gaya 
Ciencia ' ' — Troubadours — lolande  de   Flandres — Bar-le-Duc — High- 
waymen— Recruits — Fetes  galants — Court  of  Love---Juan  I.,  King  of 
Aragon — A  beauteous  damsel — L 'Academic  des  Jeux  Floraux — A  royal 
Mainteneuse — N"ails  in  their  heads  ! — "  Plucking  the  turkey  "  !  "  Quite 
as  good   as   you!" — "A   gay  woman" — A  royal  baptism — Princess 
Yolanda — The  Salic  Law — A  bridegroom-elect — Mauled  by  a  wolf — A 
silver    throne — "The    Queen!" — Bullfights — A    royal    trousseau — A 
brilliant   cavalcade— Louis   II.  d'Anjou — Attractive  girls — Castle   of 
Montpellier — A  royal  progress — "The  Loves  of  Louis  and  Yolanda " — 
A  King-suitor  in  disguise — An  ardent  kiss — A  royal  marriage — Beauti- 
ful Arlesennes — "  A   lovely  creature  !" — A  splendid  dowry — Gardens 
at  Tarascon — Legend  of  St.  Martha — A  deadly  dragon — State  entry 
into  Angers — The  castle   and  its  contents — "Mysteries" — Inartistic 
fare  —  Feastings  —  Yolanda   Lieutenant-General  of  Anjou  —  English 
invasion — Rabbit  with  a  medallion — Isabeau  de  Baviere — A  wasp-like 
waist — Jewels — Catherine  de  Valois — Yolanda's first-born — The  "Black 
Death  "  —  Queen-Duchess   Marie  —  Princess  Marie  —  Taxes  and  tax- 
gatherers — Rene  d'Anjou  born— St.  Renatus — The  Queen's  enterprise 
— Cutting  off  his  tail  ! — Claimants  for  a  throne — A  piteous  little  Prince 
— A  royal  betrothal — Henry  V.  of  England — Louis  II.  in  Italy — His 
death-  ........     30 — 66 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  III 
YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA — 11. 

PAGES 

Royal  mourning  —  Cardinal  Louis  de  Bar  —  Yolande  a  constitutional 
Sovereign — The  Duke  of  Burgundy — Matrimonial  alliances — Tourna- 
ments— Princess  Margherita  di  Savoia — Louis  III.  fights  for  the  crown 
of  Naples — Queen  Giovanna  II. — Princess  Isabelle  de  Lorraine — A 
stick  for  a  bad  woman  ! — Rene  takes  up  arms — A  vassal — Ordre  de 
la  Fidelite — The  Van  Eycks — Treasures — Gardens  at  Bar-le-Duc — 
Floral  games  —Fortune  is  a  woman  ! — Battle  of  Bauge — Birth  of 
Louis  XI.  of  France — Jeanne  d'Arc — A  panel  of  matrons — Slanders — 
Queen  Yolande's  daring — Charles  VII.  inert — Rene  Duke  of  Barrois 
— A  debauche  Prince — A  young  widow — Preux  chevaliers — A  love- 
match — Princess  Catherine  de  Champagne  burnt  to  death — Rene  and 
Isabelle  married — Rene  Duke  of  Lorraine — Battle  of  Bulgneville — A 
royal  prisoner — A  foisted  child — A  beretta  crown — Prince  Jean — Duke 
of  Calabria — Princess  Marie  de  Bourbon — Agnes  Sorel,  the  most  lovely 
girl  in  France — Queen  Yolande  in  private  life — The  Castle  of  Saumur 
— Queen  Yolande's  death — Her  character — No  trace  of  her  grave — 
Theophaine  la  Magine — A  quaint  epitaph — The  stained-glass  windows 
of  Le  Mans  Cathedral — "A  good  mother  and  a  great  Queen  "  -  67 — 93 

CHAPTER  IV 

ISABELLE  DE  LORBAIKE 

Child  marriages — "The  Pride  of  Lorraine" — A  mailed  fist — Duchess's 
bare  feet — Satin  skin — Cardinal  matchmaker — Ten  considerations — 
Woman's  Avit  supreme  —  A  charming  boy — Jean  "sans  Peur  "  — 
"  Polluyon  " — A  Sovereign's  oath — "  Noel  !  Noel  !" — First  free  Parlia- 
ment in  France — Veterans — Antoine  de  Vaudemont — "  You  may  go  !" 
— Bulgneville — Rene  a  prisoner — Insecurity  of  life — The  Duke's  terms 
— Two  boy  hostages — La  Tour  de  Bar — Rene's  parole — Money  the  crux — 
Rene  at  Naples — The  Golden  Rose — A  royal  artist — Music  and  song — 
Duchess  Margaret  dies — "  Le  Roi  est  mort,  vive  le  Roi  !" — The  sword 
of  Lancelot — A  very  young  widow — Isabelle  leads  an  army — Alfonso 
in  check — King  Rene  free — Women  of  Genoa — On  the  throne — A 
troubled  land — "  Cette  vraie  Amazone  !" — Fortune  did  not  smile — 
"Too  much  blood" — A  dastardly  outrage — Peace — Princess  Mar- 
guerite betrothed — Black  armour — Jehanne  de  Laval — Black  buffaloes 
— Grey  hair — Splendid  tournments — Ordre  du  Croissant — Double 
nuptials— Henry  VI.  of  England — Ferri  carries  off  Yolande — Cupid's 
"Lists" — The  spectre  of  war — Death  of  Queen  Isabelle — "My  heart 
has  lost  its  love  !" — "  Amour  etFoy"  -  -  -  94 — 142 

CHAPTER  V 
JEANNE  D'ARC — "LA  PUCELLE" 

"  Give  me  Rene  !" — Village  of  Domremy — Village  feuds — A  busy  mother — 
A  weird  accouchement — Le  Bois  Chenus — Voices — St.  Michael — Mad 
Jehanne — A  coarse  kirtle — She  touched  the  hilt — Duke  Charles's 
strange  visitors — A  dash  around  the  courtyard — ' '  Vive  la  nostre 
Royne  !" — A  pilgrimage  march — Priests  and  minstrels — A  famous 
sword — Jeanne's  oriflamme — A  dissolute  Court — Charles  VI.  at  Chinon 
— A.  winning  hazard. — Certain  secrets — Jeanne's  double  ordeal — Bishops 
and  matrons — "La  Pucelle  "  so  named  by  Queen  Yolande— Filles  de 


CONTENTS  ix 

PAGES 

Joie — White  armour — An  ultimatum — Divided  counsels — The  siege  of 
Orleans — "  The  Maid"  wounded — En  route  to  Reims — The  "Sacre" 
— Jeanne's  modesty — Her  apotheosis — "  Sire,  I  bid  you  farewell " — 
Rene  the  hero — Jeanne  the  heroine — To  expel  the  hated  English — The 
fall  of  Paris — "The  Maid"  a  prisoner — Deserted  by  everyone — A 
mock  trial — A  human  wreck — Burnt  to  death — A  maiden's  heart  and 
a  white  dove — "  Ma  Royne  est  mort !"  Rene's  lament — Charles's 
remorse — The  memory  of  Jeanne  d'Are  ....  143 — 173 


CHAPTER  VI 
MARIE  D'ANJOU 

'The  little  Queen  of  Bourges" — A  master-stroke — A  lovely  bride,  an  ill- 
looking  groom  —  An  evil  mother's  influence  —  Three  fair  witches — 
Yolande's  prestige  —  Woman's  power  in  France  —  Marie  v.  Agnes  — 
Unhappy  Charles  VI. — The  Chatelaine  de  Courrages — A  gallows  and  a 
flagellation — Marriage  of  Charles  and  Marie — Impecuniosity — Never 
touched  her  below  the  chin  ! — Jacques  Cceur's  loyal  succour — Terrible 
disasters — A  treacherous  deed — Isabeaii's  rage — Queen  Marie's  speech 
— A  lovely  bevy  of  Maids  of  Honour — Outrageous  fashions — Correcte's 
crusade — "Abas  les  hennins  !" — Scudding  stones — Plain  chapelles — 
A  faint-hearted  King — Queen  Marie's  "I  will" — Marie  d'Anjou  and 
Jeanne  d'Arc — No  place  for  the  Queen  ! — Agnes  Sorel,  "la  Belle  des 
Belles  " — Serge  chemises — "  The  plaything  of  the  most  valiant  King  ?" 
— Agnes's  four  daughters — A  loving  son — Boxed  her  ears  ! — Agnes's 
heart  in  gold — "Males  femmes" — "Everything  for  France  !" — Disas- 
ters and  delirium — Marie  in  shade  and  shine — A  pillion — Poor  little 
Princess  Margaret ! — "  A  curse  on  life  !" — A  dissolute  Prince — Slander 
and  hypocrisy  —  The  Bastard  of  Orleans — A  tryst  disturbed — The 
obscene  Fete  des  Fous — A  royal  repast — Tours  for  delicacies — A 
famous  pack  of  cards — The  Queen  as  a  business  woman — Cocks  and 
hens — Marie  dies  at  Poitiers — "A  good  and  devout  woman  "  -  174 — 215 


CHAPTER  VII 

GIOVANNA  II.    OF  NAPLES 

"  Like  Queen  Giovanna  !" — Anjou  succession  in  Naples — A  lover  suffocated 
— King  Ladislaus — Many  suitors — Hard  to  please — A  rare  quality — 
Marriage  ring  torn  off — Louis  d' Anjou 's  advance — A  poor  old  Queen — 
Butterfly  courtesans — A  champion  of  physical  beauty — A  wily  woman 
— The  cord  of  St.  Francis — A  baseborn  athlete— The  chief  of  the  pages 
— The  Queen's  master — Vampire  kisses — Louis  v.  Alfonso — A  romantic 
story — Fair  Leonora — Not  a  tool  of  the  Queen — Fierce  rivals — Pulled 
the  Queen's  hands — Giovanna  in  her  lover's  arms — Flashing  eyes — 
Beneath  the  lips — Superb  entertainments  —  Giovanna  discovers  the 
liaison — Rene  bravest  of  the  brave — Treason — Duchess  Covella  Ruffo 
and  her  jewelled  poniard — Rene  at  Naples — ' '  II  galantuomo  Re  " — 
The  Jews — Alfonso  defeated  and  a  prisoner — Belated  pious  deeds — 
Giovanna  as  the  Virgin  Mary! — An  embassy  from  Naples  —  Many 
claimants  for  the  throne — Isabelle  a  virago  Queen — A  macaroni  basket 
—  "  I'll  not  fight  with  a  woman  !" — Colossal  orgies — A  Spartan  mother 
Decisive  battle  of  Troia — End  of  the  Angevine  dynasty — Jean,  Duke 
of  Calabria,  raises  the  flag  in  vain  ....  216 — 252 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VIII 

MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU 

PAGES 

"The  loveliest  Princess  in  Christendom" — A  storm-rocked  cradle  —  A 
child's  kiss — Troubadours  and  glee-maidens — An  eligible  suitor — The 
love  of  all  the  boys — Neglected  education — A  delighted  grandmother — 
Marriage  tangles — Philippe,  Count  de  Nevers,  repudiated — Henry  VI. 
of  England  looking  for  a  Queen — The  "Three  Graces  of  Armagnac" — 
Cardinal  Beaufort  charmed  with  Marguerite — An  unpainted  face — 
"Oh  fie!  oh  fie!" — An  autograph  letter — Splendid  nuptials — La 
Confrererie  de  la  Passion — Too  poor  to  buy  her  own  wedding  dress — A 
peachy  blush — Fine  fashions — Gold  garter  chains — Sumptuous  hair- 
dressing — A  "Marguerite"  flower-holder — A  sorrowful  parting — A 
truly  royal  train — The  entente  cordiale — The  Queen  short  of  ready  cagh 
— A  stormy  passage — Chicken-pox  ? — The  King's  ring — A  famous  tire- 
woman— Extraordinary  presents — Pageants — Queen  Margaret  crowned 
— "La  Frangaise" — The  Queen's  strong  character  —  The  Duke  of 
York  nonplussed — Pious  foundations — The  King's  seizure — She  had  to 
play  the  man  ! — The  Prince  of  Wales — York's  dastardly  insinuations 
— A  costly  churching-robe — Civil  war  begins — Margaret  leads  the 
Lancastrians  in  person — Success  and  failure — York's  grey  gory  head — 
"Lore  Lady- Day  " — Lord  Grey  de  Ruthen's  treason — King  Henry  a 
prisoner  in  the  Tower — "  Fie  on  thee,  thou  traitor  !" — The  Queen  in 
Scotland — King  Louis's  double  game — A  shipwreck — A  common  robette 
— Galant  Sir  Pierre  de  Breze — "  Une  Merrie  Mol  !" — The  kiss  of 
etiquette — Thorns — All  the  poets  sing  of  Margaret — All  is  lost  ! — 
Margaret  at  home  again — Earl  of  Warwick's  loyalty — A  diplomatic 
marriage  —  The  sea  flouts  Margaret  —  Perjured  Lord  Wenlock  —  A 
treacherous  blow — The  Prince  murdered — "Bloody  Edward" — The 
"she- wolf" — Hands  tied  behind  her  back — King  Henry  killed — The 
Queen  in  a  dungeon — Renews  pathetic  letter — The  great  heroine  of  the 
Wars  of  the  Roses — Repose  at  Reculee — A  lioness  at  bay — ' '  The  grim 
grey  wolf  of  Anjou  " — A  sad  and  lonely  death  ...  253 — 305 

CHAPTER  IX 

JEHANNE    DE    LAVAL 

Roses — "December"  and  "May" — A  famous  House — The  Queen  of 
Beauty — All  in  love  with  Jehanne — The  champion's  crest — A  tourna- 
ment banquet — The  Grand  Prix — Rene  struck  with  Jehanne — His 
Genoese  innamorate — "Devils  at  home" — A  second  marriage  desirable 
— The  King  bemoans  Isabelle — No  festivities — A  moral  allegory — 
A  new  course  of  life — Costly  offerings—"  Les  Tards-Venus  " — Court  of 
Love  at  Les  Baux — "  La  Passe  Rose  " — A  coffin  full  of  golden  hair — 
Ruralizing  royalty — Jehanne,  nymph  of  the  bosquets — "Pastorals" 
— "  Regnault  et  Jehanneton  " — All  fall  in  love,  and  all  fall  out  ! — An 
allegory  of  chivalry — Cuer  reads  the  strange  inscription — Louis  XL's 
outrageous  behaviour — "  L'Abuz£  en  Court  " — Rene  the  victim — The 
Pageant  of  the  Pheasant — An  elysium  of  love — The  Queen's  virtues — 
Her  portrait — Rene's  school  of  architects — St.  Bernardin,  the  King's 
confessor — Rene's  heart — Pious  Sovereigns — Relics — The  crown  of 
Catalonia — Queen  Jehanne  and  Queen  Margaret — Church  spectacles — 
Magnificent  hospitality  —  Demoiselle  Odille  —  La  Petite  Helene  — 
Patroness  of  crafts — "  The  Golden  Rose  " — Rene's  green  old  age — '  Le 
bon  Roy  est  rnort !" — Marie  de  la  Ohapelle's  children — Queen  Jehanne 
retires  to  Beaufort — A  studious  widow — "I  have  no  other  r&le  to 
play  !" — "  La  Reine  "  in  an  iron  cage — The  Queen's  sweet  death — 
Her  will  —  Her  monument  and  Rene's — "  Priez  pour  la  bonne 
Jehanne "...  ....  306—356 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACIKO 
PAGE 


CEREMONIOUS  ENTRY  OF  THE  "LADY  OF  THE  CREST" 

Frontispiece 

QUEEN  YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  -  30 

ENTRY  OF  A  QUEEN  INTO  HER  CAPITAL  -  40 

FAVOURITE  RECREATIONS  -  50 

A  MYSTERY     -  -  60 

KING  Louis  II.  OF  SICILY- ANJOU     -  -  68 

COMMUNION  OF  A  KNIGHT     -  74 

A  ROYAL  REPAST  80 

STREET  SCENE  IN  Aix  -  86 

QUEEN  ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  94 

KING  RENE  (circa  1440)  106 

ROYAL  PATRONESSES  AND  CRAFTS     -  -  118 

"C(EUR"  AND  "THE  ISLAND  OF  LOVE  "  130 

"THE  WHITE  QUEEN" — JEANNE  D'ARC  -  144 

EXPULSION  OF  GAY  WOMEN  -  -  152 

SIEGE  OF  ORLEANS      -  -  160 

SACRE  OF  CHARLES  VII.  -  168 

QUEEN  MARIE  D'ANJOU  -  174 

A  BESIEGED  CASTLE   •  -  184 

KING  RENE  AND  HIS  COURT  -  -  194 

xi 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 


QUEENS,  JUDGES,  AND  KNIGHTS  -  204 

QUEEN  GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  -                                 -  216 

HOMAGE  OF  A  VASSAL  -           -  226 

KING  AND  QUEEN  IN  STONE  -  -  236 

KING  RENE  AND  GUARINI  DA  VERONA  -  246 

QUEEN  MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  -           -           -           -  254 

BEFORE  THE  " LISTS"-  -  268 

KING  RENE  IN  HIS  STUDY     -  -  280 

AGRICULTURAL  PURSUITS  -  292 

QUEEN  JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  -  -  306 

ST.  MADELEINE  PREACHING    -  -  320 

"THE  BURNING  BUSH"  .  334 

KING  RENF,  (circa  1470)          ...  .  343 


PREFACE 

KING  REN£  D'ANJOTJ  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS — yes, 
I  stand  by  my  title,  and  offer  no  apology  to  the 
captious  and  the  curious. 

Rene  was  the  most  remarkable  personality  in  the 
French  Renaissance.  How  many  English  readers  of 
the  romance  of  history,  I  wonder,  know  anything  about 
him  but  his  name  ?  Of  his  "  seven  Queens,"  two  only 
are  at  all  familiar  to  the  English  public, — Marguerite 
d'Anjou  and  Jeanne  d'Arc, — and  their  stories  as 
commonly  told  are  unconvincing.  The  other  five  are 
not  known  even  by  name  to  the  majority  of  people  ; 
therefore  I  have  immense  pleasure  in  introducing 
them  to  any  clientele:  Yolanda  d'Arragona,  Isabelle 
de  Lorraine,  Jehanne  de  Laval,  Giovanna  II.  da 
Napoli,  Jeanne  d'Arc  and  Marguerite  d'Anjou. 
This  galaxy  of  Queens,  fair  and  frail,  will  appeal  as 
something  entirely  new  in  sentimental  biography 
to  those  in  search  of  novelty. 

Turgid  facts  of  history  and  dryasdust  statistics  of 
the  past  are,  of  course,  within  everybody's  ken,  or 
they  are  supposed  to  be — this  is  an  age  of  snobbery  ! 
Piquant  stories  of  the  persons  and  foibles  of  famous 
men  and  women  are  my  measure,  and  such  you  will 
have  in  plenty  in  my  narratives.  To  get  at  my  facts 

xiii 


xiv  PREFACE 

and  fictions  I  have  dug  deep  into  the  records  of  Court 
chroniclers,  and  I  think  I  have  blended  very  success- 
fully the  spirit  of  the  troubadours  and  the  spirit  of 
the  age  of  chivalry.  At  the  end  of  the  volume  I 
have  added  a  Bibliography,  for  the  benefit  of 
sententious  students,  and  my  Index  is  as  full  as  possible, 
to  assist  the  casual  reader. 

The  illustrations  which  adorn  my  pages  have 
been  gathered  from  many  sources.  I  think  they 
will  greatly  assist  the  appreciation  of  my  work.  With 
respect  to  portraits  of  my  "  Queens,"  there  are  no 
extant  likenesses  of  Yolanda  and  Jeanne  :  for  the 
latter  I  have  chosen  to  reproduce  the  historical 
imaginative  fresco  of  M.  Lepenveu,  at  the  Panthdon 
in  Paris ;  for  the  former  the  stained-glass  window  effigy 
at  Le  Mans  Cathedral  must  do  duty.  Queen  Isabelle 
is  an  enlargement  of  a  miniature  by  Rend  ;  Queen 
Marie  is  after  a  French  picture  of  the  School  of 
Jean  Focquet,  now  at  the  National  Gallery,  London, 
but  wrongly  entitled.  Queen  Giovanna  II.  is  from 
an  altar-piece  in  the  National  Museum  at  Naples. 
Queen  Marguerite  is  from  a  miniature  by  her  father, — 
her  portraits  in  England  are  eminently  unsatisfactory 
and  non-contemporary, — Queen  Jehanne  is  froiti  the 
right  wing  of  the  Aix  triptych,  by  Nicholas  Froment. 

There  is,  I  think,  nothing  more  to  add  to  my  preface, 
so  I  leave  "  King  Rene  and  his  Seven  Queens  "  t&e-a- 
tete  with  my  discerning  public.  If  they  are  found  to 
be  entertaining  company  I  am  repaid. 

EDGCUMBE  STALEY. 


CHRONOLOGY 


1399.  Marriage  of  Louis  II.  d'Anjou  and  Yolanda  d'Arragona. 

1408.  Birth  of  Rene  d'Anjou. 

1411.  Giovanna  II.  succeeds  to  throne  of  Naples. 

1417.  Rene1  adopted  by  Cardinal  de  Bar. 

1420.  Marriage  of  Rene  and  Isabelle  de  Lorraine. 

1422.  Marie  d'Anjou  marries  Charles  VII. 

1424.  Kene,  Duke  of  Barrois. 

1429.  Jeanne  d'Arc  and  Kene  at  Siege  of  Orleans. 

1431.  Rene",  Duke  of  Lorraine  ;  prisoner  at  Bulgneville. 

1433.  Rene's  campaign  in  Italy. 

1434.  Rene,  King  of  Sicily,  etc. 

1435.  Giovanna  II.  dies;  Rene,  King  of  Naples. 
1437.  Rene  released  finally  from  Tour  de  Bar. 

1441.  Rene  retires  from  Italy. 

1442.  Queen  Yolanda  dies. 

1445.  Marriage  of  Marguerite  d'Anjou  and  Henry  VI. 

1448.  Order  of  the  Croissant  established. 

1453.  Queen  Isabelle  dies. 

1455.  Marriage  of  Rene"  and  Jehanne  de  Laval. 

1463.  Queen  Marie  dies. 

1465.  Ren6  proclaimed  King  of  Catalonia. 

1470.  Jean,  Duke  of  Calabria,  King  of  Catalonia,  dies. 

1473.  Rene  retires  from  Anjou,  which  is  seized  by  Louis  XL 

1480.  Rene"  dies. 

1482.  Queen  Marguerite  dies. 

1498.  Queen  Jehanne  dies. 


xv 


KING  RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS 
SEVEN  QUEENS 


CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTORY 

"  RENE,  King  of  Jerusalem,  the  Two  Sicilies,  Aragon, 
Valencia,  Majorca,  Sardinia  and  Corsica  ;  Duke  of 
Anjou,  Barrois,  and  Lorraine  ;  Count  of  Provence, 
Forcalquier  and  Piemont,"  so  runs  the  preamble  of 
his  Will.  To  these  titles  he  might  have  added 
Prince  of  Gerona,  Duke  of  Calabria,  Lord  of  Genoa, 
Count  of  Guise,  Maine,  Chailly,  and  Longjumeau, 
and  Marquis  of  Pont-a-Mousson  ! 

He  was  famous  as  a  Sovereign,  a  soldier,  a  legis- 
lator, a  traveller,  a  linguist,  a  scholar,  a  poet,  a 
musician,  a  craftsman,  a  painter,  an  architect,  a 
sculptor,  a  collector,  a  sportsman,  an  agriculturist,  and 
incidentally  a  chivalrous  lover.  About  such  a  many- 
sided  character  there  is  much  to  tell  and  much  to 
learn.  His  times  were  spacious  ;  the  clouds  of  Medi- 
sevalism  had  rolled  away,  and  the  Sun  of  Progress  illu- 
minated the  heyday  of  the  Renaissance  ;  art  and  craft 
had  come  into  their  own.  Venus  disarmed  Mars,  Diana 
entranced  Apollo,  and  Minerva  restrained  Mercury, 
and  all  the  hierarchy  of  heaven  was  captive  to  the 

17 


18      RENfi  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Liberal  Arts.  Rene  d'Anjou,  figuratively,  seems  to 
have  gathered  up  in  his  cunning  hand  the  powers  of 
all  the  spiritual  intelligences  alongwith  the  life-lines 
of  practical  manifestations.  He  has  come  down  to  us 
as  the  beau-ideal  Prince  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

"  A  Prince  who  had  great  and  pre-eminent 
qualities,  worthy  of  a  better  future.  He  was  a  great 
Justicier  and  an  enemy  to  long  despatches.  He 
said  sometimes,  when  they  presented  anything  to 
signe,  being  a-hunting  or  at  the  warre,  that  the  Pen 
was  a  kinde  of  Armes,  which  a  person  should  use  at 
all  times  " — so  wrote  the  historian  Pierre  Mathieu, 
in  his  "History  of  Louis  XI.,"  in  1614.  He  goes 
on  to  say  :  "  The  reign  of  so  good  a  Prince  was 
much  lamented,  for  he  intreated  his  subjects  like  a 
Pastor  and  a  Father.  They  say  that  when  his 
Treasurer  brought  unto  him  the  Roy  ale  Taxe, — 
which  was  sixteen  florins  for  every  kindled  fire, 
whereof  Provence  might  have  about  three  thousand 
five  hundred, — hee  enformed  himselfe  of  the  aboun- 
dance  or  barenesse  of  the  season  ;  and  when  they 
told  him,  that  a  mistrall  winde  had  reigned  long,  hee 
remitted  the  moiety  and  sometimes  the  whole  taxe. 
Hee  contented  himself  with  his  revenues,  and  did 
not  charge  his  people  with  new  tributes.  Hee  spent 
his  time  in  paintings,  the  which  were  excellent,  as 
they  are  yet  to  be  seen  in  the  city  of  Aix.  Hee 
was  drawing  of  a  partridge  when  as  they  brought 
him  newes  of  the  loose  of  the  Realme  of  Naples,  yet 
hee  could  not  draw  his  hande  from  the  work  and  the 
pleasure  hee  took  here  in.  ...  They  relate  that 
he  dranke  not  wine,  and  when  as  the  noble  men 
of  Naples  demanded  the  reasons,  he  affirmed  that 
it  had  made  Titus  Livius  to  lie,  who  had  said  that 


INTRODUCTORY  19 

the  good  wine  caused  the  French  to  passe  the 
Alps.  .  .  .  He  was  perhaps  better  suited  to 
make  a  quiet  State  happy  than  to  reduce  a  rebellious 
one." 

King  Rene"s  career  and  work  as  a  Sovereign,  a 
soldier,  a  legislator,  a  traveller,  a  poet,  and  a  lover, 
are  treated  in  full  in  the  letterpress  of  this  volume. 
His  work  as  an  artist,  a  craftsman,  an  agriculturist, 
and  a  collector,  is  here  given  under  different  head- 
ings, as  introductory  to  the  expression  of  his  personal 
talents. 

I.   ARTISTIC  WORKS  OP  KING  RENE. 

Rene"s  first  efforts  as  a  designer  and  painter  were 
exhibited  upon  the  walls  of  his  prison-chamber  at 
Tour  de  Bar,  near  Dijon,  1431-1435.  Thence  forward 
he  decorated  the  walls  and  stain-glazed  the  windows 
of  his  various  castles  and  palaces — Bar-le-Duc, 
Nancy,  Angers,  Saumur,  Reculee,  Tarascon,  Mar- 
seilles, and  Aix.  Every  bastide  and  maison 
inhabited  by  his  Queens  and  himself  was  also 
similarly  adorned,  and  many  coloured  church  windows 
were  due  to  his  gentle  art.  Alas  that  so  few 
vestiges  of  these  admirable  labours  remain  !  French 
mobs  are  proverbial  for  iconoclastic  propensities,  and  no 
land  has  suffered  more  than  France  from  the 
suicidal  mania  of  her  sans-culottes. 

To  fresco-painting,  portraits,  and  glass-staining,  the 
Royal  artist  added  miniatures  and  penmanship.  His 
"  style "  was  formed  and  developed  successively 
under  such  personal  tuition  as  that  of  the  bi  others 
Van  Eyck  and  Maistre  Jehannot  le  Flament.  Later 
on  Jean  Focquet  of  Tours  and  Nicholas  Froment 
influenced  him.  A  letter  is  extant  of  King  Rene, 


20      RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

addressed  in  1448  to  Jan  Van  Eyck,  in  which  he 
asks  for  two  good  painters  to  be  sent  to  Barrois. 

Visits  to  Rome,  Florence,  Naples,  Milan,  and  other 
art  cities  of  Italy,  very  greatly  enlarged  Renews 
metier.  Intercourse  with  Fra  Angelico  da  Fiesole, 
Fra  Filippo  Lippi,  Paolo  Ucello,  the  Delia  Robbia, 
and  many  other  Tuscan  artists,  quickened  his 
natural  talent  and  guided  his  eye  and  hand.  Leon 
Battista  Alberti,  Francesco  Brunellesco,  and  Cennino 
Cennini,  and  their  works  in  materia  and  literature, 
produced  great  results  in  the  receptive  faculties  of 
the  King-artist.  At  Naples  he  came  in  contact 
with  Colantonio  del  Fiore,  Antonio  Solario — II 
Zingaro  —  and  Angiolo  Franco,  and  gathered  up 
what  they  taught. 

Besides  these  immense  advantages  as  a  personal 
friend  of  great  ruling  Italian  families,  the  Medici, 
the  Pazzi,  the  Tornabuoni,  the  Visconti,  the  Sforza, 
the  Orsini,  and  many  others,  Rend  had  oppor- 
tunities enjoyed  by  very  few.  His  own  amiable 
individuality  and  his  ample  knowledge  were  the 
highest  credentials  in  the  pursuit  of  art  and 
craft.  Rend  witnessed  the  consecration  of  the 
Duomo  of  Florence  and  the  completion  of  the 
guild  shrine  of  Or  San  Michele,  and  he  was 
enrolled  as  an  honorary  member  thereof.  At 
Florence  also  he  was  thrown  in  contact  with  world 
famous  scrivani — writers  and  illustrators  of  manu- 
script. The  subsequent  excellence  of  French  minia- 
turists was  largely  due  to  King  Rene's  example 
and  encouragement. 

Rene's  more  considerable  paintings,  which  have 
been  preserved,  are  as  follows  : 

1.    The  Burning  Bush,  part  of  an   altar  triptych, 


INTRODUCTORY  21 

at  the  Cathedral  of  Aix.  Projected  and  begun  by 
the  King,  it  was  finished  by  Nicholas  Froment,  1475-76, 
and  for  it  the  artist  received  no  more  than  70 
gulden  (see  illustration). 

2.  Souls    in    Purgatory,  an   altar-piece   (7  x  5J), 
originally    in    hospital  chapel    at  the   Chartreuse  of 
Villeneuve  les  Avignon.      It  is  really  a  "  Judgment," 
with  Christ  and  saints  above  the  clouds,  and  twenty- 
four  little  figures  in  and  out  torment.     The  building 
was  destroyed  in  1793. 

3.  La  Divina   Commedia,  an    altar-piece    (8  x  6), 
in  the  church  of  the  Celestins  at  Avignon  in  distemper. 
It  was  due  to   Rene"s   vision  of  his  mistress,  Dame 
Chapelle,  upon  the  day  of  her  death,  which  shocked 
him  so  greatly  that  he  painted  this  composition  to 
remove  the  painful  impression  he  thus  experienced. 

4.  Saint     Madeleine     preaching,     now     in     the 
H6tel  Cluny.     It  was  a  whimsical  conceit  connecting 
the  story  of  the  sisters  of  Lazarus  with  Rene'  and 
his  Queen  Jehanne.      It  is  conventional  in  treatment 
but  finished  most  beautifully  (see  illustration). 

King  Renews  artistic  speciality  was  miniatures. 
He  illuminated  many  manuscripts. 

1.  Preces  Prce.  The  Latin  "  Hours  "  of  King 
Rene",  a  manuscript  of  150  sheets  of  fine  vellum, 
written  very  beautifully  in  small  lettering,  with 
superb  capitals  in  gold  and  colours.  The  borders  and 
miniatures  are  exquisitely  painted.  It  is  bound  in 
red  morocco.  This  precious  volume  was  dedicated 
to  Queen  Isabelle,  whose  portrait  is  painted  as  a 
frontispiece  (see  illustration).  It  was  one  of  the 
King's  wedding  presents  to  his  second  Queen,  Jehanne 
de  Laval.  The  value  of  the  Preces  Prce  is  enhanced 
by  numerous  marginal  notes  of  dates  and  details 


22       RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

written  by  Rene's  hand.  At  the  end  by  way  of 
Finis  is  a  clock-face,  upon  which  is  painted  "  R  et  J," 
under  the  words  "  En  Un,"  all  in  a  circle  of  gold.  This 
treasure  is  now  in  the  National  Library  in  Paris,  and 
there  is  a  copy  almost  exactly  in  duplicate  in  the 
Imperial  Library  in  Vienna.  The  date  is  1454. 

2.  Pas  d'Armes  de  la  Bergere.  A  poem  of 
Louis  de  Beauvau,  Seigneur  de  la  Roche  et  Champigny, 
Grand  Seneschal  of  Angers,  Ambassador  to  Pope 
Pius  II., and  a  famous  Champion  in  the  "Lists."  It  is  a 
pastoral  allegory,  and  extols  the  courage  and  chivalry  of 
many  famous  knights — Ferri  de  Vaude'mont,  Philippe 
Lenoncourt,  Tanneguy  de  Chastel,  Jean  de  Cossa, 
Guy  de  Laval,  and  others.  It  was  put  forth  in  1448 
after  the  celebrated  tournaments  in  Anjou,  Lorraine, 
and  Provence.  King  Rene*  illuminated  it  with 
portraits  and  miniature  paintings  at  Tarascon,  where 
he  and  Jehanne  de  Laval  spent  so  many  happy  days 
ruralizing  in  1457. 

At  Aix,  in  the  Library,  is  a  manuscript  Livres 
des  Heures,  dated  1458  ;  at  Avignon,  in  the  Church 
of  the  Cordeliers,  is  another  of  the  following  year  ; 
at  Poitiers,  in  the  Library,  is  a  "  Psalter "  ;  in  the 
Musee  de  FArsenal  of  Paris,  a  Breviary  (see  illustra- 
tion)— all  exquisitely  written  and  illuminated  by 
the  master-hand  of  the  King. 

II.    LITERARY  WORKS  OF  KING  RENE". 

The  earlier  works  of  the  King  are  sufficiently 
remarkable  as  exhibiting  his  serenity  in  adversity 
and  his  uprightness  as  a  legislator  ;  his  later  poems 
are  notable  in  revealing  his  chivalry  as  a  knight- 
adventurer,  and  his  tenderness  as  a  dainty  troubadour. 


INTRODUCTORY  23 

Rene,  whether  as  Sovereign,  knight,  or  lover,  led  the 
taste  of  his  age.  His  personality  attracted  every- 
body, and  his  character  elevated  all  in  fruitful 
emulation.  His  utterances  and  his  writings,  in  spite 
of  the  freedom  of  manners  and  the  piquancy  of 
speech,  were  conspicuous  for  chastity  of  thought 
and  delicacy  of  expression.  Not  a  single  dubious 
word  or  doubtful  reference  disfigures  his  pages  :  a 
man  and  King  was  he  without  reproach. 

The  works  which  Rend  composed  as  well  as 
decorated  place  him  in  the  forefront  of  poets.  The 
principal  are  as  follows  : 

1.  Regnault    et  Jehanneton,   or    Les  Amours    de 
Bergier    et    de    la    Bergeronne.       It    is    an    idyllic 
pastoral.      The  manuscript  occupies  seventy  sheets  of 
fine  vellum,  written  in  black  and  crimson,  very  care- 
fully and  finely.      The  miniatures  and  capitals  are  very 
numerous,  and  display  the  greatest  skill  and  taste  in 
design  and  finish.      This  manuscript  was  written   at 
Tarascon,  after  Rene  and  Jehanne's  romantic  sojourn 
at  his  bastide  on  the  Durance. 

2.  Mortifiement  de    Vaine    Plaisance,    or    Trade 
entre    I'Ame    devote    et    le     Cceur.       In    manuscript, 
written  very  carefully  in  black  and  scarlet,  with  many 
exquisitely-painted    miniatures    and    capital    letters. 
This     "  Morality "    covers    fifty-five    sheets    of    the 
finest    vellum.      The   Royal  writer  was    assisted    by 
Jehan  Coppre,  a  priest  of  Varronsgues.      The  frontis- 
piece   by    Rene    represents    the    King,   fully  robed, 
seated  in  his  studio  labouring  with  his  pen  and  brush 
(see  illustration). 

3.  La     Conquete    de    la   Doulce    Mercy,    or    La 
Conquete  par  le  Cuer  d' Amour  Espris.    This  is  a  manu- 
script with  138  sheets  of  very  smooth  vellum  written 


24       REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

in  red,  black,  and  purple,  with  sixty-two  miniatures 
and  many  capitals  superbly  painted.  It  is  bound  in 
red  morocco,  and  is  in  the  National  Library  in  Paris. 
It  bears  the  date  1457.  Rene"  both  wrote  and  illumin- 
ated it  shortly  before  the  death  of  Queen  Isabelle. 

4.  L'Abuze    en     Court.     A    manuscript    covering 
fifty-seven  sheets  of  very  fine  vellum.     Where   and 
how  King  Rene  got  his  "  skins  "  we  do  not  know,  but 
they  are  the  finest  and  most  perfect  of  any  French 
or  Italian  manuscripts  of  the  period.      The  colour  and 
grain  of  the  skin  are  very  fine  ;  only  an  artist-writer 
could  have  chosen  such  splendid  folios.     This  manu- 
script is  bound  in  walnut-wood  boards  covered  with 
crimson  velvet  and  embroidered.    It  contains  fifty  lovely 
miniatures  and  has  rich  capitals.     Rend  has  in  this  case 
recorded  the  exact  date  of  completion — July  12,  1473. 

5.  Very     superb —  perhaps     King     Rene's    chef 
d'ceuvre — is  Le  Tracte  des   Tournois,  a  full  descrip- 
tion of  his  splendid  tournament  at  Saumur,  with  the 
richest    possible    illustration.       It    is    dedicated    to 
Charles  d'Anjou,  his  brother,  who  died  in   1470  ;  he 
was  Count   of  Maine  and   Guise,    and   Governor   of 
Lorraine.     The   frontispiece  and  two  other   illustra- 
tions are  reproductions  of  the  Royal  artist's  designs. 

One  of  the  most  charming  incidents  in  Rene's  long, 
useful,  and  moving  life  was  his  intercourse  with 
Charles  d'Anjou,  son  of  the  first  Duke  of  Orleans, 
brother  of  Charles  VI.  of  France.  The  young  Prince 
was  made  a  prisoner  at  the  Battle  of  Agincourt  in 
1415,  and  remained  in  captivity  in  the  Tower  of 
London  for  twenty -five  years.  His  constant  com- 
plaint was :  "I  mourn  with  chagrin  that  no  one 
does  anything  to  release  me  !"  This  piteous  appeal 
at  length  gained  the  heart  of  Duke  Philippe  of 


INTRODUCTORY  25 

Burgundy,  who  effected  his  deliverance  in  1440. 
Between  King  Rene  and  Duke  Charles  there  passed, 
through  spiritual  affinity,  a  constant  succession  of 
delightful  poetic  souvenirs  —  the  prisoner  of  La 
Tour  de  Bar  and  the  prisoner  of  the  Tower  of 
London — comrades  in  sorrow,  companions  in  joy  ! 
The  form  these  missives  took  was  that  of  rondeaux, 
or  valentines,  and  in  this  category  nothing  could  be 
more  delicate  and  sensuous.  A  very  favourite  ending 
of  the  poems  was — 

"Aprh  wie  seule  excepter, 
Je  vous  servirai  cette  conte, 
Ma  douce  Valentine  gente, 
Puis  qu'amour  veuilt  que  on'y  contents."  * 

Charles  d'Anjou  died  in  1465,  greatly  lamented  by 
his  poet-confidant. 

King  Rene  composed  and  wrote,  and  also  set  to 
music,  very  many  motets  and  caroles  (dance-songs). 
The  former  are  still  sung  in  village  churches  in 
Provence,  and  the  latter  danced  at  village  fetes. 

Rene  was  famous,  too,  as  a  polite  letter-writer. 
Between  1468  and  1474  he  despatched  thirty-seven 
missives  to  Pope  Sixtus  IV.  and  others,  chiefly 
relating  to  affairs  in  the  kingdom  of  Catalonia. 

At  the  Chateau  d' Angers,  as  well  as  at  those  of 
Nancy  and  Aix,  King  Rend  had  splendid  collections 
of  manuscripts  and  books.  Rare  works  in  Hebrew, 
Greek,  Arabic,  Turkish,  and  Latin,  he  collected  in  the 
several  departments  of  Scripture,  Philosophy,  History, 
Geography,  Natural  History,  and  Physics.  Writers 

*"With  one  only  reservation, 
I  will  send  you  this  narration, 
My  gentle,  natty  Valentine, 
Since  your  love  so  well  content  is  mine." 


26       REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

and  students  naturally  were  attracted  to  such  a 
sapient  Prince.  Three  of  the  former  in  particular 
attached  themselves  to  his  patronage :  Pierre  de 
Hurion,  Jehan  de  Perin,  and  Louis  de  Beauvau  ;  and 
with  them  was  Rene's  chief  collaborator — Herve' 
Grellin. 

III.  CRAFTSMAN'S  WORKS  OF  KING  RENE. 

Rene  was  a  great  advocate  for  the  combination  and 
co-operation  of  the  arts  and  crafts.  In  no  sense  was 
he  a  free-trader  :  his  policy  was  to  encourage  native 
enterprise  and  to  check  destructive  intrusion  of  aliens. 
To  consolidate  commercial  interests  and  to  safeguard 
industries,  he  established  "  Orders  "  or  "  Guilds  "  for 
workers.  For  example,  at  Tarascon  he  instituted 
"  The  Order  of  the  Sturgeon,"  for  fisherfolk,  which 
held  an  annual  festival  in  July,  called  La  Charibande, 
specially  in  honour  of  Le  Roy  des  Gardons — "  King 
of  Roaches."  At  Aix  the  King  established  "  The 
Order  of  the  Plough,"  for  agriculturists,  and  their 
fete-day  was  the  Festival  of  the  Assumption.  He 
could  hold  the  coulter  with  any  of  his  farm  labourers, 
and  greatly  delighted  in  matches  of  strength  and 
speed.  Rene's  interest  in  agriculture  and  stock- 
rearing  did  very  much  to  make  Anjou  and  Provence 
fruitful  States.  He  naturalized  the  sugar-cane,  and 
introduced  many  new  trees  and  plants  :  the  rose  de 
Provence  ;  the  CEillet  de  Poete — our  Sweet  William  ; 
the  mulberry  ;  and  the  Muscat  grape. 

As  patron  of  crafts,  Rend  especially  encouraged 
workers  in  tapestry,  vestments,  costumes  and 
tournament  decorations,  goldsmiths,  jewellers,  medal- 
ists, armourers,  and  masters  of  wood,  stone,  and 


INTRODUCTORY  27 

metal,  with  operatives  in  textiles.  In  Provence,  at 
Aix  and  Marseilles,  he  had  workshops  which  he  him- 
self superintended,  and  where  such  instructors  were 
employed  as  Jehan  de  Nicholas,  Gruillaume  le 
Pelletier,  Juan  d'Arragona,  Jehan  le  Gracieux,  Luigi 
Rubbotino,  Henri  Henniquin,  and  Jehanne  Despert. 
These  may  be  names  only,  but  their  fame  may  be 
learnt  by  the  study  of  useful  industries  in  France. 
The  Comptes  de  Roy  Rene, — Rene's  business-books, — 
at  Angers  are  full  of  orders,  instructions,  payments, 
etc.,  to  work-people  of  all  sorts  and  kinds. 

At  each  of  King  Rent's  residences,  and  more 
especially  at  Aix,  he  designed  and  erected  a  raised 
architectural  loggia,  or  terrace,  which  at  once 
gained  the  name  of  La  Cheminee  du  Roy.  Here  he  was 
wont  to  spend  a  good  deal  of  his  time  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  fresh  air  and  the  contemplation  of  the 
persons  and  avocations  of  his  subjects  within 
range.  Here,  too,  he  gave  audience  to  all  sorts 
and  conditions  of  his  subjects,  passing  the  time  of 
the  day  merely  to  many,  but  with  some  of  them 
entering  fully  into  matters  proposed  for  his  considera- 
tion. Craftsmen,  tradesmen,  and  merchants,  were 
accustomed  to  pass  that  way  to  expose  commodities, 
and  exhibit  novelties  which  might  tempt  the  Royal 
patronage.  One  salient  object  of  this  amiable  habit 
was  that,  as  he  put  it,  "  my  children  may  see  their 
father,  and  take  cognizance  of  my  state  of  health  and 
my  pursuits."  Rene  lived  and  worked  among  and 
for  his  people,  and  none  who  approached  him  ever 
went  away  empty  or  dissatisfied.  Nothing  pleased 
him  better  than  a  morning  salutation  or  an  evening 
serenade  by  troubadour-jongleurs  and  other  makers  of 
music  and  of  fun.  Sometimes  the  municipal  author- 


28      RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

ities  made  courteous  protests  to  their  liege  Lord  for 
the  creation  of  crowds  and  obstruction  to  the  free 
circulation  of  the  traffic.  To  all  such  representations 
the  King  turned  a  ready  ear,  but  also  turned  their 
pleas  into  subjects  for  good-humoured  merriment. 

"  You  see/'  he  used  to  say,  "  I  am  something  of  a 
troubadour  myself,  and  life's  serious  moods  require 
joyous  elevation." 

Rene"  was  great  in  loving-cups,  or,  more  correctly, 
their  contents.  Nothing  pleased  him  more  than  to 
hand  to  anyone  who  had  interested  or  amused  him  a 
delicious  beverage,  and  often  enough  in  the  utmost 
good-humour  he  bade  the  recipient  keep  the  cup  as 
a  memento  of  his  interview — and  "  mind,"  he  added, 
"  you  drink  my  health  and  Queen  Jehanne's  some- 
times." 

Rene's  consideration  of  and  generosity  to  his  ser- 
vants and  attendants  was  proverbial.  The  Comptes  are 
full  of  instructions  to  his  Treasurers  to  pay  such  and 
such  sums  of  money  or  other  benefactions.  To 
Jehan  de  SeVancourt,  an  equerry,  for  example,  he 
gave  a  purse  of  200  ducats,  "for  thy  skilful  care  of 
my  favourite  charger."  To  Alain  le  Hdrault,  a  valet 
and  barber  "  a  gold  snuffbox  and  fifty  ducats  for  his 
daughter's  confinement."  He  was  very  fond  of 
quoting  the  example  of  Marie  d'Harcourt,  mother 
of  his  son-in-law  Ferri  de  Vaude'mont,  who  died  in 
1476.  She  was  affectionately  called  "the  Mother 
of  the  Poor."  "  She,"  said  Rene,  "  was  rightly 
called  ;  am  not  I,  then,  father  too  ?" 

Rend  was  a  great  collector  of  works  of  art  and 
curios,  although,  by  the  way,  he  was  obliged  very 
frequently  to  distribute  his  treasures  in  order  to  raise 
money  for  his  warlike  enterprises  and  philanthropic 


INTRODUCTORY  29 

pursuits.  A  speciality  was  the  acquisition  of  relics  of 
saints  and  other  venerable  objects.  In  1470  he  and 
Queen  Jehanne  assisted  at  the  translation  of  a  piece  of 
the  True  Cross,  which  he  had  obtained  in  Italy,  to 
the  Church  of  St.  Croix  at  Angers.  Lists  of  such 
treasures,  and,  indeed,  of  the  treasures  in  general  of 
his  house,  may  be  read  in  Les  Comptes  de  Roy  Rene. 
Many  originally  came  from  King  John  the  "  Good  " 
of  France,  Rene"s  great-grandfather,  handed  down  by 
Louis  I.  and  Louis  II.  of  Sicily-Anjou. 

Rend  had  a  penchant  for  rock-crystal  objects  and 
miniature  carvings  in  wood.  Among  the  former  he 
possessed  a  very  famous  winecup,  upon  which  he 
engraved  the  following  quaint  conceit : 

"  Qui  bien  beurra 
Dieu  voira. 

Qui  beurra  tout  d'une  baleine 
P'oira  Dieu  et  la  Madeleine  !"  * 


*  "  Whoso  drinks  me 
God  shall  see. 

Whoso  at  one  good  breath  drains  me 
Shall  God  and  the  Magdalen  see !" 


CHAPTER  II 

YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA — "A  GOOD  MOTHER  AND  A 
GREAT  QUEEN." 

I. 

THE  Queen  was  in  labour,  and  shivering  groups  of 
robust  citizens  and  sturdy  peasants  were  gathered  in 
front  of  the  royal  castle  of  Zaragoza,  eagerly  await- 
ing the  signal  of  a  happy  deliverance.  The  fervent 
wish  of  King  Juan  for  a  male  heir  was  shared  by  his 
subjects,  for  his  brother  Martino,  next  in  succession, 
was  in  delicate  health  ;  moreover,  he  had  only  one  son, 
and  he  was  a  cripple.  The  succession  to  the  throne 
was  a  source  of  anxiety  to  all  good  Aragonese.  To 
be  sure,  there  was  a  baby  Princess  already  in  the 
royal  nursery,  but  whether  her  mother  had  been  a 
lawful  wedded  wife,  or  no  more  than  a  barragana  of 
the  Sovereign,  few  knew  outside  the  charmed  circle  of 
the  Court.  In  the  opinion  of  the  men  and  women  of 
the  triple  kingdom  generally,  this  mattered  little,  for 
natural  children  were  looked  upon  as  strengthening 
the  family  ;  hijos  de  ganancia  they  were  called.  The 
Salic  Law,  however,  barred  the  female  heirs  of  the 
royal  house,  so  little  Juanita  was  of  no  importance. 
Within  the  courtyard,  about  the  royal  apartments, 

and  all  through  the  precincts  of  the  Presence,  min- 

30 


YOLANDA    D'ARRAGONA 

(KING  BENE'S  MOTHER) 
From  Coloured  Glass  Window,  Le  Mans  Cathedral 


To  face  page  30 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  31 

strels  and  poets  thronged,  as  well  as  Ministers  and 
officials  ;  Queen  Yolanda  was  the  Queen  of  Trouba- 
dours, and  the  courtiers  she  loved  best  to  have  about 
her  were  merry  maids  and  men — graduates  of  the 
"Gaya  Ciencia."  The  livelong  night  they  had  danced 
and  postured,  they  had  piped  and  sung.  Each  poet 
of  the  hilarious  company  had  in  turn  taken  up  his 
recitative,  printed  by  staccato  notes,  to  be  repeated 
in  chorus  and  in  step,  until  the  fandangoes  and 
boleros  of  the  South  were  turned  into  the  boisterous 
whirling  jotas  of  Aragon.  The  first  dawn  of  day 
brought  into  play  lutes  and  harps,  restrung,  retuned 
cellos  and  hurdy-gurdies,  and  vihuelas  de  penola, 
guitars  with  metal  wires  and  struck  with  strong 
herons'  plumes,  and  so  awoke  the  phlegmatic  guardians 
of  the  castle.  Sweet  and  harmonious  Proven§al 
voices  blended  with  soft  notes  of  melodious  singers 
from  Languedoc  to  the  running  accompaniment  of  the 
weird  Basque  music  of  the  mountaineers. 

The  Queen,  upon  her  massive  curtained  bed  of 
state,  heard  the  refrains  and  felt  the  vibration  of  the 
lilting  measures,  and  smiled  pleasantly  as  she  laid  awake 
expectantly.  At  length  the  great  tenor  bell  up  in  the 
chapel  turret  gave  out  the  hour  of  six.  The  last 
note  seemed  to  hang,  and  many  a  devout  listener 
bent  a  reverent  knee  and  bared  his  head,  whilst  the 
women-folk  uttered  fervent  Aves.  One  single  stroke 
of  the  metal  clapper  was  followed,  alas !  immediately  by 
another.  "  Two  for  a  Princess !"  resounded  from 
lusty  throats,  but  there  was  a  tone  of  disappointment 
in  the  cry.  The  glaring  morning  sun,  however,  made 
no  mistake,  impartial  in  his  love  of  sex.  Dancing 
upon  the  phosphorescent  ripples  of  the  rolling 


32       REN]*  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Mediterranean,  he  shot  golden  beams  within  the 
royal  chamber,  and  crimson  flushed  the  cheeks  of  the 
royal  mother  and  her  child.  It  was  the  red-hot  sun 
of  Spain,  and  the  day  was  red,  too — the  feast  of 
San  Marco,  April  25,  1380. 

Christened  within  eight  hours  of  birth — the  cus- 
tom in  Aragon — and  "  Yolanda  "  named,  the  little 
Princess's  advent  was  speeded  right  away  to  distant 
Barrois,  her  mother's  home,  by  the  Queen's  Chamber- 
lain, trusty  Cavalier  Hugues  de  Pulligny.  He  had 
been  summoned  at  once  to  the  accouchement  couch, 
and  given  to  hold  and  identify  the  babe.  With  him 
he  took  the  Queen's  mothering  scarf — the  token  of  a 
happy  birth — and  hied  post-haste  to  lay  it  and  his 
news  at  the  feet  of  the  anxious  Duke  and  Duchess  at 
Bar-le-Duc.  His  reward  was  a  patent  of  nobility 
and  500  good  golden  livres. 

Yolanda,  Queen-consort  of  Juan  I.,  King  of  the 
triple  kingdom  of  Aragon,  Catalonia,  and  Valencia — 
Violante  de  Bar — was  the  elder  of  the  two  daughters 
of  Robert  I.,  Duke  of  Bar,  and  his  wife,  Marie 
of  France,  daughter  of  King  John  II.,  "  the 
Good."  Their  Court  was  one  of  the  chief  re- 
sorts of  the  Troubadours  and  Jongleurs,  who 
looked  to  the  Duke's  famous  mother,  Princess 
lolande  of  Flanders,  as  their  queen  and  patroness. 
Bar,  or  Barrois,  first  gained  royal  honours  when  the 
Emperor  Otto  III.,  in  958,  created  his  son  and 
successor,  Frederic,  Count  of  Bar  and  Prince  of  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire.  The  succession  was  handed 
down  for  hundreds  of  years,  and  in  1321  Count 
Henry  IV.  married  the  Flemish  Princess.  Her 
jewels  and  her  trousseau  were  the  talk  of  half  a 
century.  Her  gaiety,  her  erudition,  and  her  skill  in 


YOLANDA  TARRAGONA  33 

handicraft,  were  remarkable  ;  her  Court  the  most 
splendid  in  Europe. 

Bar  was,  so  to  speak,  the  golden  hub  of  the  great 
humming  wheel  of  Franco-Flemish  arts  and  crafts. 
Bordered  by  Luxembourg,  Lorraine,  Champagne,  and 
Burgundy,  the  fountain-heads  of  rich  and  generous 
vintages,  she  took  toll  of  all,  and  the  Barroisiens 
were  the  healthiest,  wealthiest,  and  the  merriest  folk 
in  the  French  borderland. 

The  influence  of  the  bewitching  and  accomplished 
Princess-Countess  lolande  was  paramount,  and  she 
was  ever  adding  to  her  fame  by  making  royal  pro- 
gresses throughout  her  husband's  domains.  Wherever 
she  went,  music  and  the  fine  arts,  and  every  artistic 
cult  and  useful  craft,  prospered  amazingly.  Borne  in 
a  great  swaying  chariot,  drawn  by  four  strong  white 
Flemish  horses,  the  magnificence  of  her  cortege  led 
on  one  occasion,  if  not  on  more,  nearly  to  her  undoing. 
Travelling  in  the  summer-time  of  the  year  1361  to 
Clermont  en  Argonne,  one  of  the  ducal  castles,  she 
was,  when  not  very  far  away  from  storied  Laon,  be- 
set by  an  armed  company  of  outlaws,  who,  however, 
treated  her  with  charming  courtesy.  They  caused 
the  Princess  and  her  ladies  to  descend  from  their 
equipage  and  step  it  with  them  as  vis-a-vis  under  the 
greenwood  tree.  Then,  not  very  gallantly,  to  be 
sure,  they  stripped  their  fair  partners  of  their  orna- 
ments and  despoiled  the  princely  treasure,  causing  the 
Princess  to  sign  a  pardon  for  their  onslaught.  The 
adventure,  however,  did  not  end  here,  for  lolande 
was  a  match  for  any  man,  and  on  the  spot  she 
enrolled  her  highwaymen  as  recruits  for  Count 
Henry's  army ! 

The  almost  fairy  Princess-Countess  survived  her 


34       RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

consort  many  years,  and  lived  to  see  the  county  of 
Bar  raised  to  a  dukedom,  and  to  dance  upon  her 
knee  a  little  namesake  granddaughter,  Violante  de 
Bar.  Nothing  gave  her  greater  pleasure  than  the 
floral  games  of  the  troubadours,  and  one  of  these 
fStes  galants  was  enacted  in  1363  at  the  Ducal 
Castle  of  Val  de  Cassel,  where  Duchess  Marie  had 
just  brought  into  the  world  this  very  baby  girl.  The 
poets  chose  their  laureate  —  one  Eustache  Des- 
champs-Morel,  and  Princess  lolande  crowned  him 
with  bays.  The  ballade  he  composed  for  those  aus- 
picious revels  is  still  extant — Du  Metier  Profitable 
— wherein  he  maintains  that  only  two  careers  are 
open  to  happy  mortals. 

"  Ces  deux  ont  partout  I'avantage, 
Uun  enjtmglant,  I'autre  h  corner" 

The  sights  and  sounds,  then,  which  first  greeted  the 
pretty  child  were  merry  and  tuneful.  She  was  reared 
on  troubadour  fare,  on  troubadour  lore.  Violante" 
had  three  brothers,  Edouard,  Jehan,  and  Louis,  and  a 
younger  sister  Bonne,  married  to  Nicholas,  Comte 
de  Ligny,  but  alas !  buried  with  her  firstborn  before 
the  high-altar  of  St.  Etienne  at  Bar-le-Duc. 

When  Violante  was  in  her  seventeenth  year,  there 
came  a  royal  traveller,  disguised  as  a  troubadour  of 
Languedoc,  to  the  Court  of  Love  at  Bar-le-Duc. 
His  quest  was  for  a  bride.  He  was  of  ancient 
lineage  ;  his  forbears  came  from  Ilia,  in  a  southern 
upland  valley  of  the  Eastern  Pyrenees,  and  had  ruled 
the  land  'twixt  barren  mountain  and  wild  seacoast 
for  no  end  of  years — Juan  I.,  King  of  Aragon, 
Catalonia,  and  Valencia.  He  had  just  buried 
Mahaud  d'Armagnac,  the  young  mother  of  his  little 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  35 

daughter  Juanita,  and  there  was  a  gaping  wound 
in  his  amorous  heart  which  yearned  for  healing. 
The  royal  Benedict  looked  for  a  Venus  with  a  dash 
of  Diana  and  a  measure  of  Minerva,  and  chroniclers 
say  he  had  drawn  blank  the  Courts  of  Spain  and 
Southern  France.  Moreover,  they  tell  a  pretty  tale 
of  him  which  must  now  again  be  told. 

After  wanderings  manifold,  the  royal  knight-errant 
found  himself  within  the  pageant-ground  of  Bar-le- 
Duc  and  at  a  "Court  of  Love."  There  he  broke  shield 
and  lance  at  tilt,  and  Prince  Cupid  pierced  his  heart. 
Mingling  in  the  merry  throng,  King  Juan  found  him- 
self partnered  by  the  most  beauteous  damsel  his  eyes 
had  ever  seen.  She  was  the  Princess  Violante, 
daughter  of  the  Duke.  Before  she  realized  what  her 
gay  vis-&-vis  had  said  and  done,  he  vanished.  But  upon 
her  maiden  finger  glittered  a  royal  signet-ring.  Back 
to  Zaragoza  sped  the  gay  troubadour,  and  in  a  trice 
a  noble  embassy  was  on  its  way  to  the  Barrois  Court 
to  claim  the  hand  of  the  fascinating  Princess  and  to 
exchange  the  heavy  ring  of  State  for  the  lighter 
jewelled  hoop  of  espousal. 

The  entry  of  Queen  Yolanda  (Violante)  into 
Zaragoza  was  a  resplendent  function,  and,  despite 
their  habitual  taciturnity,  the  citizens  hailed  the 
lovely  consort  of  their  King  with  heartiest  acclama- 
tions. In  her  train  came  minstrels  and  glee-maidens 
from  Champagne  and  Burgundy,  from  Provence  and 
the  Valley  of  the  Rhine  and  Languedoc.  Such 
merry  folk  were  unknown  in  phlegmatic  Aragon. 
To  be  sure,  they  had  their  poets,  their  dances  and 
their  songs,  but  they  were  the  semi-serious  pastimes 
of  the  sturdy  Basque  mountaineers. 

The  Academic  des  Jeux  Floraux  of  Toulouse, — 


36      REN^l  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

newly  founded  in  1323,  and  better  known  there  as 
the  College  du  Gaye  Sqavoir,  —  sent  an  imposing 
company  of  minstrels  to  greet  the  new  Queen  of 
Aragon  at  Narbonne — the  city  of  romance  and  song 
— and  to  offer  her  a  spectacular  serenade  beneath 
the  balconies  of  the  Archiepiscopal  Palace,  where 
she  and  her  suite  were  accommodated.  With  them 
they  bore  golden  flowers  and  silver  with  which 
Royal  Violante  should  crown  the  laureates,  and  to 
Her  Majesty  they  offered  a  great  amaranth  of 
gold,  together  with  the  diploma  of  a  Mainteneuse. 
Acclaimed  "  Queen  of  Troubadours,"  her  motley 
train  swept  through  the  cities  of  the  coast  and 
crossed  the  Spanish  frontier.  One  and  all  offered 
her  their  true  allegiance — to  live  and  dance  and  sing 
and  die  for  Yolanda  d'Arragona. 

If  the  Aragonese  were  noted  for  stubbornness, — 
and  of  them  was  curtly  said  :  "  The  men  of  Aragon 
will  drive  nails  in  their  heads  rather  than  use 
hammers," — they  have  a  sound  reputation  for  chivalry. 
King  lago  II.  established  this  characteristic  in  an 
edict  in  1327.  "We  will,"  ran  the  royal  rescript, 
"  that  every  man,  whether  armed  or  not,  who  shall 
be  in  company  with  a  lady,  pass  safely  and  unmolested 
unless  he  be  guilty  of  murder."  Courting  an  alegra 
senorita,  whether  of  Aragon,  Catalonia,  or  Valencia, 
was  the  duty  of  every  lad,  albeit  the  fair  one  jokingly 
called  it  "  pelando  la  pava"  (plucking  the  turkey). 
The  royal  romance  was  a  charming  example  for  all 
and  sundry,  and  many  an  amorous  French  troubadour 
had  his  wings  cut  by  Prince  Cupid  and  never  went 
home  again  at  all,  and  many  a  glee-maiden,  to  boot, 
plucked  a  "  turkey  "  of  Aragon  ! 

King  Juan  threw  himself  unreservedly   into    the 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  37 

arms  of  his  merry  Minerva- Venus  Queen  :  no  doubt 
she  "  plucked  "  him  thoroughly  !  A  "  Court  of  Love  " 
was  established  at  Zaragoza.  All  day  long  they 
danced,  and  all  night  through  they  sang,  and  at  all  times 
played  their  floral  games,  whilst  dour  senors  scowled 
and  proud  duenas  grimaced.  The  revels  of  the  "Gay a 
Ciencia  "  shocked  their  susceptibilities,  until  a  crisis 
was  reached  in  1340,  when  the  King  sent  embassies 
to  all  the  French  Courts  to  enlist  the  services  of  their 
best  troubadours.  A  solemn  session  of  the  Cortes, 
wherein  resided  the  actual  power  of  the  State, — the 
King  was  King  only  by  their  pleasure, — was  called, 
"  Podemos  mas  que  vos  " — "  We  are  quite  as  good  as 
you,  or  even  better  " — that  was  the  moving  spirit  of 
Aragon.  A  resolution  was  passed  demanding  the 
suppression  of  "  the  feast  of  folly,"  as  the  gay  doings 
at  Court  were  called,  and  the  immediate  expulsion  of 
the  foreign  minstrels  and  their  hilarious  company. 

Here  was  a  fix  for  the  easy-going  King, — dubbed 
by  many  "  Vlndolente"  the  Indolent, — between  the 
devil  and  the  deep  sea.  The  Queen  point-blank 
refused  to  say  good-bye  to  her  devotes,  and  her 
wiles  prevailed  to  retain  many  a  merry  lover  at  her 
Court,  for  the  stoutest  will  of  man  yields  to  the 
witchery  of  beauty  in  every  rank  of  life  ! 

If  Queen  Yolanda  was  a  "gay  woman,"  as  his- 
torians have  called  her, — and  no  class  of  men  are 
anything  like  so  mendacious, — she  was  not  the  "  fast " 
woman  some  of  them  have  maliciously  styled  her. 
No,  she  was  a  loving  spouse  and  a  devoted  mother. 
Perhaps,  could  she  have  chosen,  she  would  have 
brought  forth  a  boy  ;  but,  still,  every  mother  loves  her 
child  regardless  of  sex  or  other  considerations.  She 
addressed  herself  zealously  to  the  rearing  of  the  little 


38      REN]6  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

princess.  No  sour-visaged  hidalgo  and  no  censorious 
citizen  was  allowed  the  entree  to  the  nursery. 
Minstrels  rejoiced  at  the  nativity,  and  minstrels 
shared  the  rocking  of  the  cradle.  She  was  baptized 
at  the  old  mosque-like  cathedral  of  Sa  Zeo,  or  San 
Salvador, — where  the  Kings  her  forbears  were  all 
anointed  and  crowned, — with  the  courtly  ceremonial 
of  Holy  Church,  whilst  outside  the  people  sang  their 
well-loved  ditties.  Quite  the  favourite  was  "  Nocte 

Buena  " — 

"  La  Vergin  se  fui'  in  lavar 
Sui  manos  Uancas  al  rio  ; 
El  Sol  sequedd  parado, 
La  Mar  perdio  su  ruido"  etc.* 

and  many,  many  other  verses.  Zaragoza  was  famous 
for  the  splendour  of  her  mystery  plays,  as  many 
quaint  entries  in  the  archives  of  the  archdiocese 
prove  :  "  Seven  sueldos  for  making  up  the  heads  of 
the  ass  and  the  ox  for  the  stable  at  Bethlehem  ;  six 
sueldos  for  wigs  for  the  prophets  ;  ten  sueldos  for 
gloves  for  the  angels." 

The  little  Princess  was  not  the  only  occupant  of 
the  royal  nursery  in  Zaragoza  ;  King  Juan's  child 
Juanita  greeted  her  baby  companion  with  glee,  but 
the  Queen  was  not  too  well  pleased  that  she  should 
be  allowed  to  remain  there.  Indeed,  an  arrangement 
was  come  to  whereby  Mahaud's  child  was  delivered 
over  to  a  governante,  and  Princess  Yolanda  was 
queen  of  all  she  saw.  Very  carefully  her  training 
was  taken  in  hand,  with  due  respect  to  the  peccadilloes 
of  the  Court  ;  but  her  mother  saw  to  it  that  her 

*  "  To  the  rivulet  the  Virgin  sped, 
Her  fair  white  hands  to  wash; 
The  wandering  Sun  stood  still  o'erhead, 
The  Sea  cast  up  no  splash,"  etc. 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  39 

environment  should  be  youthful,  bright,  and  intelligent. 
Hardly  before  the  child  was  out  of  leading-strings  her 
future  was  under  serious  consideration,  for  the  King 
had  no  son  nor  the  promise  of  one  by  his  consort,  and 
Queen  Yolanda  determined  to  do  all  that  lay  in  her 
power  to  circumvent  the  obnoxious  clauses  of  the 
Salic  Law. 

The  Princess  grew  up  handsome  like  her  father  and 
bewitching  like  her  mother.  She  was  the  pet  of  the 
palace  and  the  pride  of  the  people,  and  everybody 
prophesied  great  things  for  her  and  Aragon.  The 
most  important  question  was,  naturally,  betrothal  and 
marriage.  The  King,  easy-going  in  everything,  left 
this  delicate  matter  to  his  ambitious,  clever  Queen, 
and  very  soon  half  the  crowns  in  posse  in  Europe  were 
laid  at  her  daughter's  feet. 

The  survey  of  eligible  lads  of  royal  birth  was  far 
and  wide,  but,  with  the  tactful  instinct  of  a  ruling 
native,  Queen  Yolanda  made  a  very  happy  choice. 
At  Toulouse,  three  years  before  the  birth  of  her  little 
daughter,  had  been  born  a  royal  Prince,  the  eldest 
son  of  her  uncle  Louis  of  France,  her  mother's 
brother,  titular  King  of  Naples,  Sicily,  and  Jerusalem, 
Duke  of  Anjou,  and  Count  of  Provence.  The  boy's 
mother  was  Countess  Marie  de  Chatillon,  the  wealthy 
heiress  of  the  ducal  line  of  Blois-Bretagne.  He  was 
the  husband-to-be  of  Princess  Yolanda  d'Arragona, 
Louis  d' Anjou.  King  Juan  cordially  approved  the 
selection  of  the  young  Prince  :  French  royal  mar- 
riages were  popular  in  Aragon.  An  imposing 
embassy  was  despatched  at  once  to  Angers,  with  an 
invitation  for  the  boy  to  visit  the  Court  of  Zaragoza 
under  the  charge  of  his  aunt,  Queen  Yolanda.  The 
King  and  Queen  made  the  most  they  could  of  their 


40      RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

interesting  little  visitor.  With  a  view  to  contingen- 
cies, Louis  was  introduced  at  the  session  of  the  Cortes, 
and  the  King  gave  splendid  entertainments  to  the 
ricoshombres  and  other  members  of  the  Estates  in 
honour  of  his  future  son-in-law,  the  royal  fiance'  of 
the  soi-disante  heiress  to  the  throne. 

This  notable  visit  came  to  an  abrupt  and  unexpected 
end  upon  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  sudden  death  of 
King-Duke  Louis  at  the  Castle  of  Bisclin,  in  La 
Pouille,  on  September  20,  1389.  His  young  son, 
now  Louis  II.,  was  called  home  at  once.  Met  at  the 
Languedoc  frontier  by  a  kingly  escort,  the  young 
Sovereign  passed  on  to  Aries,  and  thence  to  Avignon, 
where,  on  October  25,  1389,  he  was  solemnly  crowned 
in  the  basilica  of  N6tre  Dame  des  Dons  by  Pope 
Clement  VII.  A  stately  progress  was  made  to  the 
Court  of  Charles  VI.  in  Paris,  and  the  youthful  King 
was  presented  to  imperious  Queen  Isabeau, — his 
aunt  by  marriage, — the  proud  daughter  of  Stephen  II., 
Duke  of  Bavaria,  and  Princess  Thadee  Visconti  of 
Milan. 

The  chief  object  of  this  visit  was  the  formal 
betrothal  of  the  young  King  and  the  Princess 
Yolanda  d'Arragona — a  ceremony  deemed  too  im- 
portant for  celebration  either  at  Angers  or  at  Aix,  in 
the  King's  domains.  A  notable  function,  in  the 
grand  metropolitan  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  was 
held  on,  of  all  days  the  most  suitable,  the  Feast  of 
the  Three  Holy  Kings,  January  6,  1390,  whereat 
assisted  all  the  Princes  and  Princesses  of  the  House 
of  France,  with  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Castile  and 
Aragon  as  proxy  for  the  bride-Princess,  and  an 
imposing  embassy  from  King  Juan  and  Queen 
Yolanda. 


YOLANDA  TARRAGONA  41 

Back  to  Angers  went,  with  his  mother,  Queen- 
Duchess  Marie,  the  youthful  bridegroom-elect,  to  be 
safeguarded  and  trained  for  his  brilliant  career. 
Everybody  in  Anjou  and  Provence  loved  their 
Duchess.  She  had  won  all  hearts.  Those  were 
prosperous,  happy  days — the  days  of  the  gracious 
Regent's  kindly  government. 

Early  in  1393  King  Juan  met  with  a  serious 
accident  whilst  hunting  in  the  mountains  around 
Tacca,  the  ancient  capital  of  Aragon.  He  was,  by 
the  way,  a  famous  huntsman,  and  had  gained  by  his 
keenness  in  pursuit  of  game  the  title  of  "El  Cazador" 
— "  The  Sportsman."  Mauled  by  a  wolf  he  had 
wounded  in  the  chase,  he  never  recovered  from  the 
loss  of  blood  and  the  poison  of  those  unclean  fangs. 
Feeling  his  end  approaching,  and  anxious  about  the 
future  of  his  darling  child,  he  proposed  to  Queen 
Marie  and  the  Anjou-Provence  Court  of  Regency 
that  the  nuptials  of  Louis  and  Yolanda  should  be 
celebrated  without  delay.  This  he  did  because  he 
had  determined  to  evade  the  restrictions  of  the  Salic 
Law  by  proclaiming  Louis  and  Yolanda  heir  and 
heiress  together  of  Aragon,  Catalonia,  and  Valencia. 

Queen  Yolanda  most  heartily  seconded  her  con- 
sort's project, — indeed,  she  it  was  who  had  first 
suggested  that  line  of  action,  —  and  when,  on 
May  15,  the  King  breathed  his  last  in  the  castle 
of  his  fathers  in  Zaragoza,  she  claimed  the  succession 
for  her  son-in-law  and  daughter.  On  the  day  follow- 
ing the  King's  death  she  took  the  young  Princess, — 
barely  thirteen  years  of  age, — accompanied  by  the 
whole  Court  and  a  crowd  of  sympathetic  citizens, 
into  the  basilica  of  Sa  Zeo,  and  placed  her  upon  the 
magnificent  and  historic  silver  throne  of  the  Kings 


42      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

of  Aragon.  Bending  her  knees  before  her,  she 
kissed  the  child's  hand  in  homage  to  her  sovereignty, 
and  caused  heralds  to  proclaim  her  "  Yolanda  Reina 
d'Arragona"  It  was  a  bold  step,  but  quite  in  accord 
with  the  ruling  instinct  of  the  royal  house  ;  more- 
over, it  commanded  the  suffrages  of  very  many 
members  of  the  Cortes. 

The  Estates  of  the  three  realms  met  in  plenary 
session,  and  before  the  deliberations  were  opened  the 
little  "  Queen  "  was  presented  by  her  mother,  who 
demanded  a  unanimous  vote  in  favour  of  Louis  and 
Yolanda.  There  were,  however,  other  claimants  for 
the  crown,  and  the  Cortes  decided  to  offer  it  to  Dom 
Martino,  the  late  King's  only  surviving  brother,  a 
next  heir-male  of  the  blood,  whose  consort  was  Queen 
Maria  of  Sicily.  The  new  King  treated  his  widowed 
sister-in-law  and  his  little  niece  with  the  utmost  con- 
sideration. He  prevailed  upon  Queen  Yolanda  to 
retain  the  royal  apartments  at  the  castle,  for  he  did 
not  propose  to  reside  there.  He  only  stayed  at 
Zaragoza  for  his  coronation,  and  returned  at  once  to 
Palermo. 

The  whole  energy  of  the  widowed  Queen  was  now 
devoted  to  the  education  of  her  only  child.  Her 
widowhood  weighed  lightly  upon  her  ;  her  buoyant, 
happy  nature  soon  shook  off  her  grief  and  mourning. 
She  was  now  perfectly  free  to  cultivate  her  tastes.  If 
the  "  little  Queen  "  was  not  to  be  Queen  of  Aragon, 
she  should  succeed  herself  as  "  Queen  of  Hearts  and 
Troubadours."  Accordingly  she  moved  her  residence 
to  Barcelona,  the  sunny  and  the  gay,  and  there  at 
once  set  up  a  "  Court  of  Love."  Catalonia  was  times 
out  of  mind  the  rival  of  Provence  in  romance  and 
minstrelsy ;  her  marts  had  quite  as  many  merry 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  43 

troubadours  as  serious  merchants.  The  corridas  de 
toros  —  bullfights  —  of  Barcelona  were  the  most 
brilliant  in  Spain,  whilst  the  people  were  as  inde- 
dependent  and  as  unconventional  as  they  were 
cultured  and  industrious.  The  two  Queens  very 
soon  became  expert  aficionadas  of  the  royal  sport. 

Queen  Yolanda  never  for  a  moment  lost  sight  of 
the  future  of  her  daughter,  and  preparations  for  her 
marriage  to  Louis  d'Anjou  occupied  very  much  of 
her  busy,  merry,  useful  life.  Queens'  trousseaux 
were  something  more  than  nine  days'  wonders  ;  be- 
sides, the  ambition  of  the  mother-Queen  knew  no 
bounds  to  her  daughter's  horizon.  She  must  go 
forth  at  least  as  richly  clothed  and  dowered  as 
any  of  her  predecessors.  Goldsmiths,  glass-blowers, 
cabinet-makers,  saddlers,  silk-weavers,  and  potters, — 
none  more  accomplished  and  famous  in  Europe  than 
the  artificers  of  Barcelona  and  Valencia,  — were  set  to 
work  to  fill  the  immense  walnut  marriage-chests  of 
the  bride-to-be.  Her  jewels  were  superb, — no  richer 
gold  was  known  than  the  red  gold  of  Aragon, — the 
royal  gems  were  unique,  of  Moorish  origin,  uncut. 
Years  passed  quickly  along,  and  Princess  Yolanda 
kept  her  eighteenth  birthday  with  her  mother  in 
Barcelona.  She  was  on  the  threshold  of  a  new  life. 


II. 

One  glorious  autumn  morning  in  the  good  year 
1399, — "  good  "  because  "  the  next  before  a  brand-new 
century,"  as  said  the  gossips  of  the  time, — a  gallant 
cavalcade  deployed  down  the  battlemented  approach 
to  the  grim  old  castle  of  Angers.  At  its  head, 
mounted  upon  a  prancing  white  Anjou  charger,  rode 


44      RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

as  comely  a  young  knight  as  ever  hoisted  pennoned 
lance  to  stirrup-lock.  He  was  dressed  in  semi- 
armour, — the  armour  of  the  "  Lists."  His  errand  was 
not  warlike,  for  knotted  in  his  harness  were  Cupid's 
love-ribbons :  he  was  a  royal  bridegroom-elect  speed- 
ing off  to  bring  gaily  home  from  distant  Aragon  his 
fair  betrothed.  He  had  been  knighted  ten  years 
before  by  his  uncle,  Charles  VI.,  at  his  coronation  in 
Notre  Dame  in  Paris,  at  which  solemnity  he  had, — 
a  slim  lad  of  twelve, — held  proudly  the  stirrup  of  the 
Sovereign. 

Louis  II.  d'Anjou,  born  at  the  Castle  of  Toulouse 
on  October  7,  1377,  succeeded  his  father,  Louis  I.,  in 
1389,  and,  like  him,  bore  many  titles  of  sovereignty : 
King  of  Naples,  Sicily,  and  Jerusalem  ;  Duke  of 
Anjou,  Calabria,  Touraine,  and  Pouille ;  Grand  Peer 
of  France  ;  Prince  of  Capua  ;  Count  of  Provence, 
Maine,  Forcalquier,  and  Piemont ;  Lord  of  Mont- 
pellier ;  and  Governor  of  Languedoc  and  Guienne. 
His  grandfather  was  the  brave  but  unfortunate  King 
John  "  the  Good  "  of  France  ;  his  grandmother,  the 
beautiful  but  sorrowful  Queen  Bonne  of  Luxembourg 
and  Bohemia. 

The  boy-King  carrouselled  through  the  lumbering 
gates  of  Angers  that  brilliant  October  morning 
between  two  trusty  knights  of  his  household, — loyal 
lieges  of  their  late  King  now  devoted  to  the  service 
of  the  son.  As  valiant  in  deeds  of  war  as  discreet  in 
affairs  of  State  were  Raymond  d'Agout  and  Jehan  de 
Morien.  All  three  bore  the  proud  cognizance  of 
Sicily-Anjou, — the  golden  flying  eagle, — and  their 
silken  bannerets  were  sewn  with  the  white  lilies  of 
the  royal  house  of  France.  A  goodly  retinue  of 
mounted  men  followed  the  young  King,  guarding  the 


YOLANDA  TARRAGONA  45 

person  and  the  costly  bridal  gifts  which  accompanied 
the  royal  lover's  cortege. 

Queen-Duchess  Marie,  his  mother,  had  kept  as 
Regent  unweariedly  her  long  ten  years'  watch,  not 
only  over  the  business  of  the  State,  but  also  over  the 
passions  and  the  actions  of  her  lusty,  well-grown  son. 
Many  a  maid, — royal,  noble,  and  simple, — had 
attracted  the  comely  youth's  regard,  and  had  flushed 
her  face  and  his.  Women  and  girls  of  his  time  were, 
as  an  appreciative  chronicler  has  noted,  "f ranches, 
desinter  esses,  capable  d'amours,  epidementes,  elles 
restent  nawe  tres  longtemps,  parceque  les  vices 
etrangeres  riont  point  penetres  dans  les  families."* 
Louis  had  responded  affectionately  and  loyally  to 
his  mother's  solicitude  ;  he  was  famed  as  the 
St.  Sebastian  of  his  time,  whose  chastity  and  good 
report  had  no  sharp  shaft  of  scandal  pierced. 

The  royal  cavalcade  pranced  its  way  warily  over 
the  wide-rolling  plains  and  across  the  gently  cresting 
hill-country  of  Central  France,  making  for  the  Spanish 
frontier.  The  whole  of  that  smiling  land  was  ravaged 
by  foreign  foes  and  overrun  by  native  ne'er-do-wells, 
but,  happily,  no  thrilling  adventures  have  been 
recorded  of  that  lengthy  progress.  Near  upon  the 
eve  of  St.  Luke,  King  Louis  II.  and  his  suite  were 
cordially  welcomed  in  his  royal  castle  of  Montpellier, 
which  the  two  mother-Queens,  Marie  and  Yolanda, 
had  indicated  as  the  trysting-place.  There  the  royal 
Court  was  established,  whilst  d'Agout  and  de 
Morien  were  despatched,  with  a  lordly  following,  to 
Perpignan  and  across  the  frontier  of  Aragon  to  greet, 

*  "Natural,  open-hearted,  amorous,  and  accessible,  they  are 
always  unspoiled  because  odious  foreign  manners  have  never  marred 
their  home." 


46 

at  the  Castle  of  Gerona,  the  two  Yolandas — who  were 
already  on  their  way  from  Barcelona — and  thence 
escort  them  to  their  Sovereign's  presence. 

The  young  "  Queen "  was  quite  as  anxious  to 
meet  her  affianced  husband  as  he  was  to  embrace 
her,  and  no  undue  delay  hindered  the  resumption  of 
the  queenly  progress.  It  was  a  notable  cortege,  for 
Queen  Yolanda,  holding  as  she  did  tenaciously  that 
her  daughter  was,  at  least,  titular  Queen  of  Aragon, 
Catalonia,  and  Valencia,  travelled  in  extravagant 
royal  state.  Besides  the  great  chariot,  with  its 
tapestries  and  furniture  of  richest  Hispano-Moorish 
origin,  were  others  almost  as  sumptuous  for  the  lords 
and  ladies  of  the  suite.  All  these  had  their  guards 
of  honour — trusty  veterans  of  King  Juan's  time,  and 
devoted  to  their  "  Queen."  Great  tumbrils,  laden 
with  costly  products  of  Zaragoza,  Barcelona,  and 
Valencia, — the  royal  trousseau  and  magnificent  offer- 
ings for  King  Louis  and  his  widowed  mother, — 
accompanied  by  well-mounted  cavalry,  rolled  heavily 
along  the  ancient  Roman  road  to  France. 

The  whole  of  Languedoc  agreed  to  pay  honour  to 
the  royal  travellers,  and  they  revelled  in  the  floral 
games  and  fStes  galants  offered  by  every  town  and 
castle  by  the  way.  From  Toulouse,  the  birthplace  of 
the  bridegroom-elect,  came  quite  appropriately  a 
phalanx  of  maintaineurs  to  Montpellier  to  recite  and 
sing  poems  and  melodies  of  the  "Gay a  Ciencia."  The 
green  rolling  hills  of  Languedoc  gave  back  in  sweetly 
echoing  refrains  the  tuneful  music  of  the  shell-sown 
shores  of  the  rolling  sea,  the  sun-kissed  Mediter- 
ranean :  all  sang  the  "  Loves  of  Louis  and  Yolanda." 

There  is  a  quaint  and  suggestive  story  anent  the 
meeting  of  the  august  young  couple  which  calls  to 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  47 

mind  the  adventures  of  King  Juan  at  the  Court  of 
Bar-le-Duc.  The  young  King  had  timely  warning 
of  the  approach  of  his  royal  bride-elect,  and,  hastily 
donning  the  guise  of  a  simple  knight,  he  mingled  in 
the  throng  of  enthusiastic  citizens,  unrecognized,  at 
the  entrance  of  the  town.  Both  Queens  leaned  for- 
ward in  their  chariot  to  acknowledge  the  loyal  greet- 
ings ;  and  the  bride,  — arrayed  in  golden  tissue  of 
Zaragoza,  and  wearing  Anjou  lilies  in  her  hair, — 
smiled  and  laughed  and  clapped  her  hands  in  ecstasy, 
the  animation  adding  immensely  to  her  charms  of 
face  and  figure.  King  Louis  was  enraptured,  and, 
falling  head  over  ears  in  love,  approached  the  royal 
carriage  ;  and  kneeling  on  his  berretta,  he  seized  the 
youthful  Queen's  white,  shapely  hand,  and  implanted 
thereupon  one  ardent  kiss.  The  impact  sent  the  hot 
blood  coursing  through  his  veins,  and  it  was  as  much 
as  his  esquire  could  do  to  drag  his  master  back  and 
hurry  him  to  the  palace  in  time  to  change  his 
costume  and  receive  his  royal  guests  with  courtly 
etiquette.  The  young  Queen  was  conscious  of  this 
outburst  of  love  ;  she,  too,  coloured,  and  tried  in  vain 
to  penetrate  the  disguise  of  her  impassioned  lover. 
The  mother-Queen  instinctively  guessed  who  he  was, 
and  quietly  remarked  :  "  You  will  meet  your  gallant 
knight  again,  and  soon — and  no  mistake." 

Montpellier  was  all  too  small  to  accommodate  such 
a  numerous  and  such  a  distinguished  company,  so 
King  Louis  gave  his  royal  visitors  barely  time  to 
recover  from  the  fatigues  of  the  long  coach-ride  out 
of  Spain  when  he  hurried  on  the  royal  train  to  Aries, 
in  Provence.  Queen-Duchess  Marie  was  already 
waiting  at  the  great  Archiepiscopal  Palace  to  give  the 

royal  visitors  a  cordial  greeting.    After  having  waved 

4 


48      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

her  son  adieu  from  the  boudoir- balcony  of  the  Castle 
of  Angers,  she,  too,  set  out  for  the  south.  She  had 
chosen  Aries  for  the  royal  nuptials,  as  being  the 
capital  of  the  third  great  kingdom  of  Europe  and  the 
most  considerable  city  in  her  son's  dominions. 

No  better  choice  could  have  been  made  from  a 
psychological  point  of  view,  for  have  not  the  Arlesi- 
ennes  been  noted  for  all  time  for  their  perfect  figures, 
• — Venus  di  Milo  was  one  of  them, — their  graceful 
carriage,  and  surpassingly  good  looks  ?  They,  with 
their  menfolk,  animated  and  merry,  have  always  eaten 
well  and  well  drunk.  The  delicious  pink  St.  Peray 
is  a  more  generous  wine  than  all  the  vintages  of 
Champagne.  Physical  charms  andjfm  bouquets  were 
ever  incentives  to  love  and  pleasure,  and  Mars  of 
Aragon  yielded  up  his  arms  to  Venus  of  Aries. 
Aries  —  la  belle  Grecque  aux  yeux  Sarrazines ! 
Perhaps  the  becoming,  close-fitting  black  velvet 
chapelles,  or  bonnets,  and  the  diaphanous  white 
gauze  veils,  did  much  to  express  la  grdce  fiere  aux 
femmes  ! 

It  was  indeed  a  gorgeous  function  at  which  the 
royal  couple  were  united  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony, 
that  morrow  of  All  Saints,  1399.  The  ancient 
basilica  of  St.  Trophimus  was  one  vast  nave,  no 
choir, — that  the  royal  brothers  Louis  and  Rene  built 
a  generation  later, — but  it  was  too  circumscribed  for 
the  marriage  ritual  ;  consequently,  under  a  gold  and 
crimson  awning,  slung  on  ships'  masts  beyond  the 
deeply  recessed  chief  portal,  with  its  weird  sculptures, 
the  clergy  took  up  their  station  to  await  the  bridal 
pageant.  The  Cardinal-Archbishop,  Nicholas  de 
Brancas,  joined  the  two  young  hands  in  wedlock,  and 
Cardinal  Adreano  Savernelli,  the  Papal  Legate,  gave 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  49 

the  blessing  of  Peter,  whilst  the  two  mother-Queens 
looked  on  approvingly. 

The  royal  bride, — in  white,  of  course, — had  an  over- 
kirtle,  or  train,  of  gemmed  silver  tissue — a  thing  of 
wonderment  and  beauty  worn  by  her  royal  mother, 
and  her  mother,  Marie  de  France,  before  her,  and 
coming  from  the  Greco  -  Flemish  trousseau  of  the 
famous  Countess  lolande.  Her  abundant  brown- 
black  hair  was  plaited  in  two  thick  ropes,  with  pearls 
and  silver  lace  reaching  far  below  the  jewelled  golden 
cincture  that  encompassed  her  well  -  formed  bust. 
Upon  her  thinly  covered  bosom  reposed  the  kingly 
medallion  of  her  father,  King  Juan,  with  its  massive 
golden  chain  of  Estate,  the  emblem  of  her  sovereign 
rank.  Upon  her  finger  she  wore  the  simple  ruby  ring 
of  betrothal,  now  to  be  exchanged  for  the  plain 
golden  hoop  of  marriage. 

"  Yolande  is  one  of  the  most  lovely  creatures  any- 
body could  imagine."  So  wrote  grim  old  Juvenal 
des  Ursines,  the  chatty  chronicler  of  Courts.  She 
brought  to  her  royal  spouse  a  rich  dowry — much  of 
the  private  wealth  of  her  father  and  many  art 
treasures,  among  them  great  lustred  dishes  and  vases 
of  Hispano-Moorish  potters'  work,  with  the  royal 
arms  and  cipher  thereon.  Four  baronies,  too,  passed 
to  the  Sicily- Anjou  crown  :  Lunel  in  Languedoc — 
famed  for  vintages  of  sweet  muscatel  wines — Berre, 
Martignes,  and  Istres,  all  bordering  the  salt  ]5tang 
de  Berre,  in  Provence,  each  a  Venice  in  miniature, 
and  rich  in  salt,  salt-dues,  and  works.  The  royal 
bride's  splendid  marriage-chests  were  packed  full  of 
costly  products  of  King  Juan's  kingdoms  :  table 
services  in  gold  from  Zaragoza  and  finely -cut  gems  ; 
delicate  glass  arruxiados,  or  scent-sprinklers,  and 


50       REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

crystal  tazzas  from  Barcelona — more  famous  than 
Murano  ;  great  brazen  vessels  from  Valencia  and 
richly-woven  textiles. 

The  same  veracious  historian  has  painted  a  picture 
in  words  of  the  youthful  Yolande.  "  Tall,"  he  says, 
"  slim,  erect,  well  proportioned  in  her  frame,  her 
features  of  a  Spanish  cast,  dark  lustrous  hair,  the 
Queen-Duchess  has  an  intrepid  heart  and  an  elevated 
spirit,  which  give  animation  and  distinction  to  her 
charming  personality.  She  is  remarkable  for  decision, 
and  commands  obedience  by  her  authoritative 
manner." 

The  Court  did  not  tarry  long  at  Aries,  for,  in 
spite  of  the  beauty  of  the  women  and  the  gallantry 
of  the  men  and  its  other  notable  attractions,  it  was, 
after  all,  somewhat  of  a  dull,  unhealthy  place.  A 
move  was  accordingly  made, — before,  indeed,  the 
festivities  were  quite  exhausted,— to  the  comfortable 
and  roomy  manoir  of  Tarascon,  a  very  favourite 
country  residence  of  all  the  Provence  Princes.  The 
gardens  were  famous,  and  laid  out  in  the  Italian 
manner,  and  the  extensive  park  and  fresh-water  lakes 
were  well  stocked  with  game  and  fish.  The  fttes 
galants  of  Louis  XV.  and  "  La  Pompadour  "  here 
had  their  model.  The  bridal  couple,  with  their 
guests  and  retainers, — often  as  not  in  the  guise  of 
shepherds  and  shepherdesses, — thus  kept  there  state 
for  three  merry  months,  until  the  warmer  spring 
weather  hurried  them  off  to  Angers,  in  the  north. 

The  pretty  legend  of  St.  Martha  of  Bethany 
appealed  to  the  young  Queen  -  Duchess.  In  the 
crypt  of  the  principal  church  of  Tarascon  is  the  tomb 
of  the  saint,  and  on  the  walls  is  her  story  sculptured. 
Once  upon  a  time  a  deadly  dragon, — called  by  the 


FAVOURITE    RECREATIONS 
I.    A   DIGNIFIED   MUSIC   PARTY.  2.    HAND-BALL   AND   CHESS 

Both  from  Miniatures  in  MS.,  Fourteenth  Century,  "  Valeur  Maxime  " 
British  Museum 


To  face  page  50 


YOLANDA  TARRAGONA  51 

fearful  countryfolk  "  Tarasque," — dwelt  in  a  hollow 
cave  by  the  Rhone  shore,  and  fed  on  human  flesh. 
News  of  the  devastation  wrought  by  the  monster 
reached  the  ears  of  Lazarus  and  his  sisters  at  Mar- 
seilles, and  St.  Martha  took  upon  herself  to  subdue 
the  beast.  With  nothing  in  her  hand  but  a  piece  of 
the  true  Cross  of  Christ  and  her  silken  girdle  of  many 
ells  in  length,  she  sought  out  the  deadly  dragon  in 
his  lair.  Casting  around  his  loathsome  body  her 
light  cincture,  she  enabled  her  companions  to  slay 
him.  The  girdle  of  St.  Martha  became  the  mascot 
of  all  the  Tarasconnais,  and  everybody  wore  a  goodly 
belt  or  bodice  d  la  Marthe.  Such  a  girdle,  in  cloth 
of  gold  and  tasselled,  was  offered  to  the  young  bride 
by  the  loyal  townsfolk. 

The  state  entry  of  the  Sovereigns  into  Angers, — • 
the  major  capital  of  the  King-Duke's  dominions, — 
was  just  such  another  pageant  as  that  which  greeted 
Queen  Isabeau  of  Bavaria  in  Paris  in  the  summer  of 
1385.  From  ancient  days  Angers  had  been  a  place 
of  note — the  Andegavi  of  Gallo-Roman  times,  a 
municipium  and  a  castrum  combined.  In  the 
Carlovingian  era  the  Counts — then  Dukes — of  the 
Angevines, — founders  of  the  great  Capet  family, — 
and  their  vigorous  consorts  nursed  stalwart  sons,  who 
were  the  superiors  of  their  neighbour  rulers  in  Frank- 
land.  From  Geoffrey  Plantagenet,  titular  King  of 
Jerusalem,  sprang  our  English  Kings.  Louis  IX., — 
St.  Louis  of  blessed  memory, — bestowed  the  duchy  of 
Anjou  upon  his  brother  John  with  the  title  of  King 
of  the  Two  Sicilies  ;  hence  came  the  sovereign  titles 
of  Louis  II.  and  Yolande. 

The  Castle  of  Angers  in  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries  was  one  of  the  most  imposing  in 


52      RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

France.  Flanked  by  eighteen  great  donjon  towers, 
shaped  like  dice-boxes,  it  had  the  aspect  of  a  prison 
rather  than  of  a  palace.  The  royal  apartments  were 
between  two  great  bastions,  Le  Tour  du  Moulin  and 
Le  Tour  du  Diable.  The  drawbridge  spanned  the 
deep,  wide  moat  to  the  esplanade  called  Le  Pont  du 
Monde ;  beneath  were  dark  dungeons  and  odious 
oubliettes.  To  honour  their  King  and  Queen,  the 
castle  household  hung  great  swaying  lengths  of  scarlet 
"  noble  cloth," — newly  purchased  from  the  Florentine 
merchants  of  the  "  Calimala," — to  cover  up  the  black 
slate-stone  courses  of  the  masonry  of  Le  Diable,  whilst 
they  concealed  the  rough  masonry  of  Le  Moulin  by 
strips  of  gorgeous  yellow  canvas  of  Cholet  d'Anjou. 
These  were  the  heraldic  colours  of  Aragon.  All  the 
gloomy  slate-fronted  houses  of  the  city, — "  Black 
Angers "  it  was  called, — were  decorated  similarly, 
and  gay  Flemish  carpets  and  showy  skins  of  beasts 
were  flaunted  from  the  windows.  The  citizens  kept 
holiday  with  bunches  of  greenery  and  early  spring 
flowers  in  their  hands  to  cast  at  their  new  liege  Lady. 
Queen  Yolande  waved  her  gloved  hand, — a  novelty 
in  demure  Angers, — in  friendly  response  to  the 
plaudits  of  the  throngs,  and  refused  no  kiss  of 
bearded  mouth  or  cherry  lips  thereon  as  she  rode 
on  happily  by  the  side  of  her  royal  spouse.  At 
St.  Maurice, — the  noble  cathedral,  with  its  new  and 
glorious  coloured  windows, — the  royal  cortege  halted 
whilst  Te  Deum  was  sung,  and  the  bridal  pair  were 
sprinkled  with  holy  water  and  censed.  Another 
"  Station  "  was  made  where  the  ascent  to  the  castle 
began,  for  there  pious  loyal  folk  had  prepared  the 
mystery -spectacles  of  the  "  Resurrection  of  Christ  " 
with  "  His  Appearance  to  His  Virgin  Mother."  The 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  53 

Saviour's  features,  by  a  typical  but  strange  conceit, 
were  those  of  the  King-Duke,  St.  Mary's  those  of 
the  royal  bride  ! 

The  banquetings  and  junketings  were  scenes  of 
deep  amazement  to  the  new  Queen.  In  Aragon  and 
Barcelona  people  ate  and  drank  delicately, — their 
menus  were  CL  la  Grecque, — but  in  cold  and  phleg- 
matic Anjou  great  hunks  of  beef  and  great  mugs  of 
sack, — quite  a  la  Remain, — were  de  rigueur.  An 
old  kitchen  reporter  of  Angers  records  the  daily  fare 
at  the  castle  :  "  One  whole  ox,  two  calves,  three  sheep, 
three  pigs,  twelve  fowls."  The  only  artistic  confec- 
tion was  "  hippocras,  seasoned  with  cloves  and  cinna- 
mon." Pepper,  ginger,  rosemary,  mint,  and  thyme, 
were  served  as  "  delicacies."  Another  harsh  note  on 
the  fitness  of  things  which  struck  the  royal  bride  as 
extraordinary  was  the  loud  laughter  indulged  in  by 
the  gentlemen  of  the  Court  and  their  coarse  jests  ;  le 
rire  franqais  had  nothing  of  the  mellowed  merriment 
of  the  "  Gaya  Ciencia." 

Alas !  the  rejoicings  and  the  feastings  of  the 
Angevines  and  their  guests  were  suddenly  arrested, 
and  the  enthusiastic  shouts  of  welcome  were  drowned 
by  harsh  hammerings  of  armourers  and  raucous  mili- 
tary commands.  The  King-Duke  was  summoned  to 
take  his  position  among  the  captains  of  France,  in 
battle  order,  in  face  of  the  foreign  foe,  and  the  Queen- 
Duchess,  young  and  inexperienced  as  she  was,  assumed 
the  government  of  Angers  and  the  care  of  the  citizens. 
All  France  was  ravaged  by  the  English,  and  State 
after  State  fell  before  their  onslaught.  Yolande 
addressed  herself  to  the  strengthening  of  the  defences 
of  the  castle  and  the  city.  Imitating  the  tact  and 
prudence  of  Silvestro  and  Giovanni  de'  Medici  at 


54      REN;6  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Florence,  she  ordered  the  levying  of  a  poll-tax,  rated 
upon  the  variations  of  land-tenure  and  the  varying 
incomes  of  the  craftsmen :  a  tenth  of  all  rateable 
property, — shrewdly  spread  over  three  years,  with  a 
credit  for  immediate  needs, — was  cordially  yielded  by 
the  Angevines. 

Probably  this  impost  was  made  upon  the  advice  of 
worthy  councillors,  but,  all  the  same,  the  manner  in 
which  the  young  chdtelaine  Lieutenant-General  in 
person  superintended  its  operation  was  an  eloquent 
testimony  to  her  force  of  character  and  her  true 
patriotism.  She  disposed  of  many  personal  belong- 
ings, and  submitted  to  many  acts  of  self-denial,  an 
example  quickly  followed  by  great  and  small.  She 
sent  also  to  Zaragoza  for  master-armourers  to  refurbish 
old  and  temper  new  weapons  of  various  sorts.  Some 
of  these  craftsmen  she  ordered  to  give  instruction  to 
native  workers ;  so  very  shortly  her  armoury  was 
efficient,  not  alone  for  home  defence,  but  for  the  re- 
arming of  the  King's  forces  in  the  field. 

Not  content  with  these  warlike  preparations, 
Queen  Yolande  gave  time  and  money  for  the  distrac- 
tion and  amusement  of  her  people  in  their  time  of 
stress.  Castle  f§tes,  town  sports,  and  church 
mystery  plays,  were  bravely  carried  through.  The 
Queen  herself  was  everywhere — now  mounted  for 
the  chase,  now  tending  sick  folks,  now  at  public 
prayers.  Born  daughter  of  a  grand  race,  and  full  of 
dignity,  she  had  inherited  her  mother's  happy  dis- 
position. She  charmed  everyone  in  town  and  country, 
and  endeared  herself  to  her  loving  subjects  by  many  a 
homely  trait. 

A  pretty  tale  has  been  preserved  about  her  whilst 
King  Louis  was  standing  shoulder  to  shoulder  with 


YOLANDA  TARRAGONA  55 

Charles  VI.  and  his  other  peers  of  France.  One 
afternoon, — according  to  her  wont  when  not  hindered 
by  affairs  of  State  or  claims  of  charity, — she  sallied 
forth  to  the  royal  park  of  L'Vien,  her  dogs  in  leash. 
Let  loose,  they  put  up  a  rabbit,  which  made  directly 
for  their  royal  mistress,  and  sought  refuge  in  the  skirt 
of  her  green  velvet  hunting-kirtle.  Reaching  down 
her  hand,  she  fondled  the  little  trembling  creature, 
when,  to  her  immense  surprise,  she  discovered  upon 
its  neck  a  faded  ribbon,  with  a  medallion  bearing  an 
image  of  the  Virgin.  The  incident  occurred  in  a 
woody  dell  within  the  ruins  of  a  half-buried  hermit's 
cell.  Yolande  did  not  for  a  moment  hesitate  in  her 
interpretation  of  the  incident.  She  noted  the  date, 
— February  2,  the  Feast  of  the  Purification, — and 
she  set  to  work  to  restore  the  holy  house  in  honour 
of  St.  Mary.  Upon  the  portal,  by  her  command, 
was  sculptured  the  charming  episode,  with  the 
legend  :  "  Ndtre  Dame  de  Sousterre,  ramie  et  la 
protectrice  des  dmes  en  danger."* 

The  same  year,  1401,  found  Louis  d'Anjou  and 
Yolande  upon  their  way  to  Paris,  where  she,  as 
Queen  of  Jerusalem,  Naples,  Sicily,  and  Aragon, 
made  her  state  entry  at  the  Court  of  Charles  VI. 
and  Isabeau.  Doubtless  the  young  Queen  was  struck 
with  Isabeau's  extraordinary  freedom  of  manner. 
Her  own  training,  both  at  Zaragoza  and  Barcelona, 
in  the  rigid  conventions  of  a  semi-Moorish  Court,  had 
taught  her  restraint  and  aloofness.  The  dress  of  the 
French  Queen  astonished  her,  for  in  Aragon  and 
Catalonia  physical  charms  were  enhanced  by  semi- 
concealment,  whereas  Isabeau  exposed  her  painted 

*  "  Our  Laxly  of  the  Deep  Cell,  the  friend  and  protectress  of  souls 
in  danger." 


56      REN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

arms,  shoulders,  and  her  breast,  right  down  to  her 
cincture ;  whilst  her  low  waist  at  the  back  was 
pinched  by  a  cotte  hardie,  so  that  the  bust  was 
enlarged  to  the  degree  of  distortion  :  une  taille  de 
gudpe —  "  wasp-like  "  indeed  !  The  etiquette  of  the 
Court  of  her  father,  as  well  as  that  of  Anjou,  kept 
men  out  of  the  bedchambers  of  the  fair,  but  Isabeau, 
decolletee  and  en  deshabillee,  was  the  centre  of  a  crowd 
of  flatterers  and  fawners  at  her  daily  se  lever.  The 
dressing-room  of  Isabeau  was  the  factory  of  gossip 
and  intrigue.  Perhaps  she  gave  utterance  to  the 
aphorism  : 

"  Ostez  lefard  et  le  vice, 
V(ws  luy  ostez  I'dme  et  le  corps" * 

On  her  side  Queen  Yolande  caused  a  sensation 
among  the  French  courtiers.  No  one  had  ever  seen 
such  a  wealth  of  gold  and  jewels  as  that  which 
adorned  the  winsome  Spanish  Queen.  In  spite  of 
their  great  dissimilarity  in  age,  appearance,  character, 
and  manner,  the  two  Queens  became  fast  friends,  and 
Yolande  was  permitted  to  weld  the  intimacy  into  a 
permanent  relationship  at  the  fortunate  accouchement 
of  Isabeau.  With  admirable  simplicity  and  charm 
she  assumed  the  charge  of  the  royal  infant,  sponsored 
it,  and  gave  it  her  own  name  added  to  Catherine. 
Born  to  be  the  consort  of  Henry  V.  of  England,  the 
victor  of  Azincourt,  Catherine  de  Valois  served  as  the 
gracious  hostage  and  pledge  of  a  greatly-longed-for 
peace. 

Queen  Yolande  was,  however,  approaching  her  own 
accouchement,  and  Louis,  judging  that  a  fortified 
castle  was  not  a  desirable  locality  for  such  an 

*  "  Take  away  fashion  and  vice, 

And  you  expose  both  soul  and  body." 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  57 

auspicious  event,  hurried  his  consort  and  her  boudoir 
entourage  off  to  Toulouse,  the  gay  capital  of  Lan- 
guedoc — Toulouse  of  the  Troubadours.  There,  upon 
September  25,  1403,  within  the  palace,  Yolande 
brought  forth  her  firstborn,  her  royal  husband's  son 
and  heir.  Louis  the  bonny  boy  was  named  by  the 
Archbishop  at  the  font  of  St.  Etienne's  Cathedral. 
Great  was  the  joy  over  all  the  harvest-fields  and 
vineyards  of  Provence  and  Languedoc.  Perhaps  the 
good  folk  of  Aix  felt  themselves  a  little  slighted. 
Why  was  not  the  happy  birth  planned  for  their 
capital  ?  they  asked.  Nevertheless,  they  sent  a 
goodly  tribute  of  100,000  gold  florins  to  the  cradle 
of  the  little  Prince,  and  saluted  him  as  "  Vicomte 
d'Aix." 

The  year  1404  had  seasons  of  peculiar  sorrow  for 
the  Angevine  Court,  followed,  happily,  by  joyous 
days.  On  May  1 9  the  King-Duke's  brother,  Charles, 
Duke  of  Maine  and  Count  of  Guise,  died  suddenly  at 
Angers, — the  "  Black  Death  "  they  called  his  malady, 
— amid  universal  regret.  He  had  been  content  to 
play  a  subordinate  role  in  the  affairs  of  State — a  man 
more  addicted  to  scholarly  pursuits  than  political 
activities.  He  had,  however,  proved  himself  the  son 
of  a  good  mother  and  the  stay  of  his  young  sister-in- 
law  from  Aragon  during  her  spouse's  absence  from 
his  own  dominions.  The  Duke  left  one  only  child — 
a  boy — who  succeeded  him  as  Charles  II.  of  Maine. 
Queen-Duchess  Marie  felt  her  dear  son's  untimely 
death  acutely,  and,  notwithstanding  the  loving  care 
of  her  devoted  daughter-in-law,  she  never  recovered 
from  the  prostration  of  her  grief.  Within  a  fort- 
night of  the  obsequies  of  her  son,  the  feet  of  those 
who  had  so  sorrowfully  borne  his  body  forth  to 


58      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

burial  were  treading  the  same  mournful  path,  tenderly 
bearing  her  own  funeral  casket. 

Ever  since  her  happy  marriage  to  Louis  I.  in 
1360,  Marie  de  Chatillon-Blois  had  borne  nobly  her 
part  as  the  worthy  helpmeet  of  her  spouse  and  the 
devoted  mother  of  his  children.  For  ten  years  after 
his  death  her  gentle  presence  and  wise  counsels  had 
directed  the  affairs  of  the  House  of  Sicily- Anjou,  and 
smoothed  away  all  difficulties  from  the  path  of  her 
son.  She  left  immense  wealth,  which,  added  to  the 
goodly  fortune  of  Louis  I.,  made  her  son  the  richest 
Sovereign  in  all  France.  It  was  said  at  the  time 
that  she  was  worth  "  more  than  twenty- two  millions 
of  livres."  "  In  spite  of  reputed  avarice  and  hoard- 
ing," said  a  not  too  friendly  historian,  "  she  was  a 
sapient  ruler,  moderate  and  firm,  and  she  left  Anjou 
the  better  for  a  good  example."  "  Sachiez"  wrote 
Bourdigne  of  her,  "  que  cestoit  une  dame  de  godt 
faiet,  et  de  moult  grant  ponchas,  car  point  ne  dormoit 
en  poursuivant  ses  besoignes." 

These  dark  clouds  hung  heavily  over  Louis  II.  and 
Yolande,  but  the  cause  of  their  passing  was  a 
signal  of  enthusiastic  joy.  On  October  14  a  little 
baby-girl  was  born.  Mary,  the  "  Mother  of  Sorrows," 
heard  the  prayer  of  the  stricken  Royal  Family,  and 
sent  a  new  Mary  to  fill  the  place  of  the  lamented 
Duchess  ;  for  the  child  was  named  Marie  simply, 
and  was  offered  to  St.  Mary  for  her  own. 

Troubles,  however,  were  gathering  thickly  all  over 
the  devoted  land  of  France.  The  enemy  in  the  gate, 
ever  victorious,  plundered  and  pauperized  every  State 
in  turn,  so  that  the  country  was  "  like  a  sheep  bleat- 
ing helplessly  before  her  shearers."  Tax-gatherers  and 
oppressors  of  mankind  beggared  the  poor  and  feeble, 


YOLANDA  D1ARRAGONA  59 

and  spoiled  the  rich  and  brave.  "  Sa  de  T argent  ? 
Set,  de  V argent  f" — "  Where's  your  money  ?" — was  the 
desolating  cry  which  the  rough  cailloux  of  the  village 
pave  tossed  through  the  draughty  doorways  of 
peasant  cottages,  and  the  smooth  courtyards  echoed 
through  the  mullioned  windows  of  seigneurs'  castles. 
The  gatherings,  in  spite  of  rape  and  rapine,  fell  far 
short  of  the  requirements  of  these  times  of  stress,  and 
a  general  appeal  was  made  to  Queens  and  chatelaines 
to  exercise  their  charms  in  staying  the  hands  of 
ravishers.  The  famous  answer  of  Queen  Isabeau 
was  that,  alas !  of  Queen  Yolande,  though  more 
sympathetically  expressed  :  "  Je  suis  une  povre  voix 
criant  dans  ce  royaume,  desireuse  de  paix  et  du  bien 
de  tons  /"  * 

This  aptly  expressed  the  weary  sense  of  disaster 
which  saw  that  fateful  year  expire,  but  for  the  King 
and  Queen  of  Sicily- Anjou-Provence  a  gleam  of  the 
brightness  of  Epiphany  fell  athwart  their  marital 
couch.  Yolande  was  for  the  third  time  a  mother, 
and  her  child  was  a  boy.  Born  on  January  6,  1408, 
in  a  crenellated  tower  of  the  castle  gateway  of  Angers, 
his  mother  had  to  bear  the  anxiety  and  the  vigil  all 
alone,  for  Louis  II.  was  in  Italy  fighting  for  his  own. 

As  before  the  birth  of  the  Princess  Marie  deva- 
tions  had  been  addressed  to  the  Mother  of  God  and  to 
the  saints  for  a  favourable  carriage,  now,  in  view  of 
the  troubles  of  the  land,  special  petitions  were 
addressed  to  the  most  popular  saint  of  Anjou,  St. 
Renatus,  that  the  new  deliverance  might  presage  a 
new  birth  of  hope  for  France,  and  that  the  holy  one, 
— the  patron  of  child-bearing  mothers  who  sought 

*  "I  am  a  poor  voice  crying  helplessly  in  this  wretched  kingdom, 
seeking  only  peace  and  the  good  of  all." 


60      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

male  heirs, — might  supplicate  at  the  throne  of  heaven 
for  a  baby -boy. 

Baptized  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Maurice  eight 
days  after  birth,  the  little  Prince  had  for  sponsors  no 
foreign  potentates,  but  men  of  good  renown  and  sub- 
stance in  Anjou  :  Pierre,  Abbe  de  St.  Aubin ;  Jean, 
Seigneur  de  1'Aigle  ;  Guillaume,  Chevalier  des 
Roches  ;  and  Mathilde,  Abbee  de  N6tre  Dame 
d' Angers.  The  Queen  by  proxy  named  her  child 
"  Rene' — reconnaissance  a  Messire  St.  Renatus" 

The  Queen  folded  her  little  infant  to  her  breast, 
but  after  weaning  him  she  gave  him  over  to  the 
care  of  a  faithful  nurse,  one  Theophaine  la  Magine  of 
Saumur,  who  came  to  love  him,  and  he  her,  most 
tenderly. 

Among  the  documens  historiques  of  Anjou  are 
Les  Comptes  de  Roi  Rene — notices  of  public  works 
carried  out  in  various  parts  of  the  royal  -  ducal 
dominions.  Many  of  these  enterprises  were  under- 
taken at  the  direct  instance  of  Queen  Yolande,  and 
they  throw  a  strong  light  upon  her  character  as  a 
loyal  spouse  and  sapient  ruler.  For  example,  on 
July  26,  1408,  a  marche,  or  contract,  was  made 
between  the  Queen's  Council  and  one  Julien  Guillot, 
a  master-builder,  for  restating  the  roof  of  the  living 
apartments  and  the  towers  of  the  Castle  of  Angers, 
and  also  of  various  public  buildings  in  the  city,  and 
the  manor-houses  of  Diex-Aye  and  de  la  Roche  au 
Due,  at  an  upset  price  of  fifty-five  livres  tournois 
(standard  gold  coins),  "  to  be  paid  when  the  work  is 
complete,  with  twenty  more  as  deposit." 

Again,  under  date  October  25,  1410,  another 
marchJ  was  signed,  whereby  "  Jean  Dueceux  and 
Jean  Butort,  master-carpenters  of  Angers,  agree  to 


YOLANDA  TARRAGONA  61 

strengthen  the  woodwork  of  the  castle  chapel  and 
replace  worn-out  corbels.  All  to  be  finished  against 
the  Feast  of  the  Magdalene,  at  a  total  cost  of  two 
hundred  livres  tournois,  according  to  the  order  of 
Queen  Yolande  and  her  Council."  King  Louis  had 
in  1403  assigned  a  benefaction  of  twenty-five  gold 
livres  to  the  ancient  chapel  of  St.  John  Baptist, 
to  be  paid  yearly  for  ever,  as  a  thank-offering  for  the 
birth  of  Princess  Marie. 

These  documens  are  full  of  such  notices,  and  they 
also  record  events  of  festive  interest.  One  such 
incident  had  a  most  ludicrous  denouement :  "  On  the 
twenty  -  seventh  of  June,  1409,  Messire  Yovunet 
Coyrant,  Superintendent  of  the  Castle  of  Angers,  paid 
a  visit  of  inspection,  and  he  complained  that  on 
Sunday,  June  23rd  of  this  month,  being  within  the 
said  castle,  where  a  merry  company  was  occupied 
with  games  and  drolleries  before  Queen  Yolande  and 
the  Court,  he  stood  for  a  time  to  watch  the  fun. 
Quite  unknown  to  him,  the  tails  of  his  new  long  coat, 
which  had  cost  him  ten  solz  [half  a  livre],  were  cut  off 
by  some  miscreant  or  other,  whereby  he  became  an 
object  of  derision  !  For  this  insult  he  claimed  satis- 
faction, and  named  as  his  go-betweens  Guye  Buy- 
neart  and  Jehan  Guoynie."  Whether  these  practical 
jokers  were  inspired  by  the  Queen  we  know  not,  but 
this  trifling  record  shows  that  she  was  not  entirely 
absorbed  by  the  heavy  responsibilities  of  her  rank  as 
Lieutenant-General  of  her  consort,  but  found  time  to 
indulge  in  some  of  the  gaieties  which  had  been  the 
joy  of  her  mother  and  herself  in  Aragon,  and  which 
had  graced  her  own  nuptials  and  entry  into  Anjou 
and  Provence. 

Again  the   mirthful  pursuits    of  the    Court   and 


country  were  stayed  by  the  stringency  of  the  times. 
Sedition  spread  its  baneful  influence  all  over  Provence 
and  Languedoc  what  time  King  Louis  was  still  far 
away  fighting  in  Italy.  With  courage,  fraught  with 
love  and  assurance,  she  set  off  to  the  distant  province, 
taking  with  her,  not  only  an  escort  of  doughty  war- 
lords, but  also  her  own  tender  nurslings  —  Louis, 
Marie,  and  Rend.  With  her  children  was  also  the 
young  Princess  Catherine,  daughter  of  Jean  "  sans 
Peur,"  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  whose  betrothal  to 
her  eldest  son  Louis  was  imminent.  Through  his 
children  her  appeal  would  first  be  made  to  her 
husband's  disaffected  subjects.  Should  that  fail,  then 
she  could  don  cuirass  and  casque  and  head  her  royal 
troops  to  worst  them.  With  little  Vicomte  d'Aix 
upon  her  saddle-lap,  she  passed  through  village,  town, 
and  city,  receiving  enthusiastic  plaudits  everywhere  ; 
she  was  "  Madame  la  Nostre  Royne  !"  The  head  of 
the  rebellion  was  scotched,  and  from  Aix  the  intrepid 
Queen  despatched  messengers  to  the  King  to  tell  of 
her  success,  and  to  say  that  she  was  ready  to  embark 
at  once  to  his  assistance. 

This  heroic  offer  was  made  possible  by  the  death 
of  King  Martin  of  Aragon  in  1410,  who  bequeathed 
to  his  niece  the  whole  of  his .  private  fortune.  This 
event,  however,  added  to  the  Queen's  anxieties,  for 
she  was  not  the  sort  of  woman  to  allow  the  royal 
succession  to  pass  for  ever  unchallenged.  La  Justicia 
Mayor  of  the  State  of  Aragon  assembled  at  the 
ancient  royal  castle  of  Alcaniz  to  receive  the  names 
and  to  adjudicate  the  claims  of  candidates  for  the 
vacant  throne.  Yolande,  still  styling  herself  "  Queen 
of  Aragon,"  was  represented  by  Louis,  Duke  of 
Bourbon,  and  Antoine,  Count  of  Vend6me.  Her 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  63 

claim  was  not  immediately  for  herself,  but  for  her 
son  Louis.  Two  years  were  spent  in  acrimonious 
deliberations,  butthe  provisions  of  the  Salic  Law 
penalized  the  female  descent,  and  consequently  the 
next  male  heir,  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Castile,  placed 
the  crown  of  Aragon  upon  his  head  as  well  as  that 
of  Castile.  Queen  Yolande  had  to  be  content  with 
her  protest  and  her  titular  sovereignty. 

Back  at  Angers  in  1413,  the  Queen  conceived  a 
notable  future  for  her  nine  -  years  -  old  daughter, 
Marie.  Of  the  six  sons  of  Charles  VI.  of  France 
and  Isabeau,  only  one  survived,  the  fifth  -  born, 
Charles.  The  imperious  Bavarian  Queen  had  little 
or  none  of  Queen  Yolande's  fondness  for  her 
offspring ;  they  were  born,  alas  !  put  out  to  nurse, 
forgotten,  and  neglected — so  they  died.  Upon  the 
little  Prince — the  cherished  jewel  of  his  father — 
Queen  Yolande  fixed  her  motherly  regard.  He  was 
a  year  older  than  her  Marie,  and  a  piteous  little 
object  bereft  of  a  mother's  love  and  solicitude. 
Yolande's  warm  heart  yearned  towards  the  lonely 
child  ;  she  would  mother  him,  she  would  train  him, 
and  then  she  would  marry  him  to  Marie — this  was 
the  Queen's  dream. 

With  that  promptitude  which  marked  all  her 
well-considered  actions,  Queen  Yolande  set  about 
the  realization  of  her  castle  in  the  air.  She  again 
packed  up  herself,  her  children,  and  her  Court,  and 
took  up  her  abode  in  the  Chateau  de  Mehun-sur- 
Yevre,  near  Bourges,  a  favourite  residence  of  the 
French  Court.  Among  her  little  ones  was  a  baby- 
girl,  no  more  than  six  months  old — Yolande,  her 
own  name-child.  She  gave  as  her  reason  for  so 
strange  a  line  of  conduct  her  wish  for  greater  facilities 


64      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

in  the  education  of  her  children.  Charles  VI.  offered 
no  objection  to  the  residence  of  such  a  worthy  mother 
and  heroine  wife  in  his  own  neighbourhood ;  indeed, 
he  regarded  her  advent  with  considerable  pleasure 
and  satisfaction.  Yolande's  influence  for  good  would 
outweigh  Isabeau's  for  evil ;  besides,  she  would  be 
a  trusty  counsellor. 

Queen  Yolande  had  not  been  very  long  established 
at  Mehun  before  she  put  in  a  plea  on  behalf  of  the 
poor  little  heir  to  the  throne  of  France.  Charles 
was  thankful,  he  was  delighted,  and  at  once  gave 
into  her  sole  charge,  untrammelled  in  any  way,  his 
dear  little  son,  to  share  the  home  care  and  the 
studies  of  his  two  young  cousins,  Louis  and  Rene' 
d'Anjou.  Having  obtained  the  charge  of  the  little 
Count  de  Ponthieu,  Queen  Yolande  once  more  went 
home  to  Angers,  by  no  means  embarrassed  by  the 
fact  that  she  had  assumed  the  training  of  two  Kings, 
Louis  and  Charles,  with  Rene'  a  possible  King  of 
Aragon  besides. 

For  two  years  Charles  passed  for  Yolande's  son, 
the  playmate  and  boy -lover  of  her  sweet  Marie.  All 
his  inspirations  and  his  examples  he  took  from  her 
and  them — at  last  a  happy  boy,  with  a  hopeful 
future.  The  Queen  allowed  that  future  no  halting 
steps ;  Charles  and  Marie  should  be  betrothed,  and 
Mary  should  be  Queen  of  France  !  Yolande  broached 
the  subject  to  King  Charles,  and  at  once  gained 
his  cordial  consent,  but  tactfully  she  left  to  him  the 
furthering  of  the  project.  Upon  December  18,  1415, 
Charles  of  France  and  Marie  of  Sicily -Anjou  were 
privately  affianced  in  the  Royal  Chapel  of  the  Castle 
of  Bourges.  France  was  in  the  throes  of  revolution 
and  dissolution  ;  the  terrible  defeat  at  Azincourt,  on 


YOLANDA  TARRAGONA  65 

October  24  that  same  year,  had  paralyzed  the 
military  power  of  the  French  States,  and  was  the 
ultimate  cause  of  King  Charles's  insanity.  For 
seven  years  he  became  a  fugitive,  not  only  bereft 
of  reason,  but  of  all  resources.  Queen  Isabeau  did 
nothing  to  relieve  the  tension,  but  maintained  her 
irreconcilable  position,  and  continued  her  ill-living. 
The  King's  only  brother,  the  lamented  Duke  of 
Orleans,  had  been  assassinated  eight  years  before, 
and  there  appeared  to  be  no  one  capable  of  steering 
the  ship  of  State  into  a  calm  haven. 

This  was  Queen  Yolande's  opportunity,  and  she 
rose  to  its  height  majestically.  She  was  already 
guardian  of  the  Dauphin,  who  after  his  espousal 
returned  with  his  child-bride  to  Angers.  Now  she 
assumed  the  general  direction  of  affairs,  and  became 
virtually  Regent  of  France  and  the  arbiter  of  her 
destiny.  She  personally  approached  the  English 
King,  and  obtained  from  him  favourable  terms  of 
peace,  which  assured  tranquillity  and  regeneration  for 
France.  She  it  was  who  proposed  to  Henry  his 
alliance  with  her  young  goddaughter,  Catherine, 
the  youngest  child  of  Charles  VI.  and  Isabeau,  then 
fourteen  years  of  age.  He  was  twenty-eight,  and 
the  marriage  was  consummated  five  years  later, 
although  Henry's  terms  included  the  payment  of  the 
arrears  of  the  ransom  of  King  John  the  "  Good,"  the 
prisoner  of  Poitiers,  a  sum  of  2,000,000  crowns. 

The  Queen's  judgment  and  resourcefulness  emin- 
ently merited  the  grudging  encomium  of  the  wife  of 
her  husband's  fiercest  rival,  the  Duchess  of  Bur- 
gundy. "  I  am  always  glad,"  she  said,  "  when  it  is 
a  good  woman  who  governs,  for  then  all  good  men 
follow  her !" 


66      RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

All  this  time, — a  time  fraught  with  infinite  issues, — 
King  Louis  II.  of  Sicily- Anjou  was  in  Italy,  meeting 
in  his  campaign  with  varied  fortune.  He  had  all 
he  could  do  to  hold  his  own,  but  his  presence  at  the 
head  of  his  army  was  essential  to  ultimate  success. 
Three  times  he  entered  Naples  acclaimed  as  King,  for 
Queen  Giovanna  II.  had  named  him  so.  Three  times 
he  fled  discomfited  after  victory,  which  he  failed 
to  follow  up.  He  rarely  returned  to  his  French 
dominions,  and  really  he  had  no  necessity  so  to  do 
on  the  score  of  administration,  for  his  beloved  and 
capable  Lieutenant-General  was  perfectly  able  to 
keep  everything  in  order  and  uphold  his  authority. 
At  last  the  King  of  Sicily-Anjou  and  Naples  re- 
turned to  Angers  a  broken  and  an  ailing  man,  to 
spend  what  time  Providence  would  still  grant  him 
with  his  devoted  noble  wife. 

Queen  Yolande's  first  great  grief  came  to  her  in 
1417,  when  her  faithful  husband  was  taken  from 
her.  Happily  for  them  both,  they  were  united  at 
the  deathbed — consoling  and  consoled.  He  was 
young  to  die — barely  forty  years  of  age — but  ripe 
enough  for  the  greedy  grasp  of  Death.  Louis  II. 's 
fame  was  that  of  a  "  loyal  Sovereign,  a  righteous 
man,  a  true  spouse,  and  an  affectionate  father." 


CHAPTER  III 

YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA — "  A  GOOD  MOTHER  AND  A 
GREAT  QUEEN  " — continued 

I. 

A  ROYAL  corpse  reposed  upon  the  state  tester  bed- 
stead within  the  great  Hall  of  Audiences  in  the 
enceinte  of  the  Castle  of  Angers,  and  a  royal  widow 
knelt  humbly  at  a  prie-dieu  at  his  feet.  It  was  late 
in  the  evening  of  that  sweet  April  day, — half  sun, 
half  shower, — that  the  body  of  Louis  II.,  King  of 
Sicily,  Naples,  Jerusalem,  and  Anjou,  was  ceremoni- 
ally displayed,  flanked  by  huge  yellow  wax  candles  in 
chiselled  sticks  of  Gerona  brass  work.  The  tapestried 
walls  of  this  chapelle  ardente  were  covered  with  sable 
cloth  sewn  with  silver  lilies  and  hung  with  great 
garlands  of  yew.  The  head  of  the  lamented  Sove- 
reign reposed  upon  a  soft  cushion  of  blue  velvet,  put 
there  by  the  widow  herself.  Upon  his  breast,  with 
its  pectoral  cross,  was  his  favourite  "  Livre  des 
Heures"  one  of  the  famous  treasures  of  the  collection 
of  King  John  the  "  Good,"  his  grandfather. 

In  her  black  velvet  chapelle,  with  its  close  gauze 
veil  concealing  her  beautiful  hair,  and  attired  in 
sombre  black,  unrelieved,  the  devotional  figure,  sorrow- 
ful and  brave,  was  none  other  than  "  Good  "  Queen 

67 


68      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Yolande.  Her  right  hand  rested  consolingly  upon 
the  shoulder  of  her  eldest  son,  now  Louis  III.,  a 
well-grown  stripling  of  fourteen.  Around  his  neck 
his  mother  had  but  just  hung  the  chain  and  medallion 
of  sovereignty,  taken  tenderly  from  her  dead  spouse. 
Behind  them  knelt  Prince  Rene  and  Princess  Marie, 
the  fondest  of  playmates,  weeping  bitterly,  poor 
children  !  The  vast  hall  was  filled  with  courtiers, 
soldiers,  citizens,  all  manifesting  signs  of  woe  and 
regret.  The  royal  obsequies  were  conducted  mag- 
nificently, under  the  personal  direction  of  the  Queen, 
within  the  choir  of  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Maurice. 
Feuds  of  rival  Sovereigns,  operations  against  the 
foreign  foe,  quarrels  of  fault-finders,  and  the  like, 
were  all  hushed  in  the  presence  of  the  King  of 
Terrors.  To  Angers  thronged  royal  guests  and 
simple  folk  to  pay  their  last  tributes  of  respect  and 
devotion.  In  state,  King  Charles  VI.  started  to 
tender  his  homage  to  the  dead,  but,  struck  down 
with  sudden  illness  at  Orleans,  he  requested  Queen 
Isabeau  to  take  his  place.  Burial  rites  were  not 
much  in  that  giddy  woman's  way,  and  her  hard 
heart  had  no  room  for  sympathy  and  condolence  ;  so 
the  "  Scourge  of  France,"  as  she  was  called,  gave 
Angers  a  wide  berth. 

The  Angevine  royal  children  were  five  in  number, 
and  Louis  left  besides  a  natural  son, — Louis  de 
Maine,  Seigneur  de  Mezieres,  —  and  a  natural 
daughter, — Blanche, — whom  Rene',  when  he  attained 
his  father's  throne  in  1434,  married  to  the  Sieur 
Pierre  de  Biege.  The  defunct  King's  will  appointed 
four  simple  knights, — his  henchmen  true, — executors  : 
Pierre  de  Beauvais  and  Guy  de  Laval  for  Anjou,  and 
Barthelemy  and  Gabriel  de  Valorey  for  Provence, 


KING    LOUIS    OF    SICILY-ANJOU 

(KING  BENE'S  FATHER) 
From  Coloured  Glass  Window,  Le  Mans  Cathedral 


To  face  page  68 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  69 

with  Hardoyn  de  Bueil,  Bishop  of  Angers,  as 
moderator.  The  Queen  -  mother  was  constituted 
Regent  of  the  kingdoms  and  dominions  and  guardian 
of  the  young  King,  whilst  Prince  Rene  was  com- 
mended, under  his  father's  will,  to  the  charge  of  his 
great-uncle  Louis,  Cardinal  and  Duke  de  Bar,  with 
the  family  title  of  Comte  de  Guise. 

The  loss  of  her  second  son  and  the  parting  of  the 
brothers  was  a  sore  trial  to  the  whole  family.  The 
Cardinal,  however,  insisted  upon  his  young  nephew 
being  sent  to  him  at  Bar-le-Duc,  to  be  educated  under 
his  eye  and  prepared  for  his  destiny  as  future  Duke  of 
Bar,  which  the  Cardinal  caused  to  be  announced  both 
in  Anjou  and  Barrois.  Louis  de  Bar  was  a  very 
distinguished  ecclesiastic ;  he  had  passed  through 
every  grade  of  Holy  Order  with  rare  distinction.  In 
1391  the  Pope  conferred  upon  him  the  bishopric  of 
Poitiers,  and  two  years  later  translated  him  to 
Langres,  with  the  Sees  also  of  Chalons  and  Verdun. 
The  latter  dignity  carried  with  it  the  degree  of 
Grand  Peer  of  France,  and  in  those  days  Bishops 
were  regarded  as  temporal  Sovereigns  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  their  Sees.  Benedict  XIII.  in  1397 
preconized  Louis  de  Bar  Cardinal-Bishop,  and 
named  him  Papal  Legate  in  France  and  Germany. 
His  temporal  honours  as  Duke  of  Bar  came  to  him 
in  1415,  after  the  calamitous  battle  of  Azincourt,  in 
which  his  two  elder  brothers,  Edouard  and  Jehan, 
fell  gloriously.  Their  untimely  deaths  and  disasters 
keen  and  sad  brought  about,  too,  the  death  of  good 
Duke  Robert,  their  father.  He  died  of  a  broken 
heart,  whilst  Duchess  Marie  shut  herself  up  in  a 
convent,  and  was  never  known  again  to  smile.  Her 
death  has  not  been  recorded. 


70      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

After  bidding  adieu  to  her  dearly  loved  son, — 
perhaps  her  favourite  child,  and  most  like  herself  in 
temperament  and  character, — Queen  Yolande,  with 
the  young  King,  was  fully  occupied  in  receiving 
addresses  of  condolence  and  assurances  of  loyalty  both 
at  Angers  and  at  Aix,  to  which  they  made  a  progress 
in  full  state.  She  assumed  the  personal  direction  of 
affairs,  appointing  tactfully  as  assessors  the  most 
prominent  men  of  all  classes  in  both  domains.  In  a 
very  distinct  sense  she  was  a  democratic  Sovereign, 
and  under  her  regime  the  Estates  were  allowed  a 
good  deal  of  independent  action  in  matters,  at  least, 
of  local  policy.  Thus,  by  maintaining  the  dignity  of 
the  crown  of  Sicily- Anjou-Prove.nce  and  encouraging 
popular  government,  Queen  Yolande  initiated  the 
first  free  constitution  in  the  history  of  all  France. 

The  stability  of  the  throne  and  the  welfare  of  its 
subjects  having  been  secured,  the  Queen  turned  her 
attention  to  the  matrimonial  prospect  of  her  eldest 
son.  Some  years  before  King  Louis's  death,  Jean 
"  sans  Peur,"  Duke  of  Burgundy, — in  days  when  the 
Courts  of  Angers  and  Dijon  saw  eye  to  eye,  and  the 
States  were  not  rivals  in  the  direction  of  the  general 
policy  of  the  French  Sovereigns, — had  confided  his 
little  daughter  Catherine  to  the  charge  of  the  eminent 
Queen  of  Sicily-Anjou,  to  be  brought  up  with  her 
own  girls,  the  Princesses  Marie  and  Yolande.  Then 
the  idea  of  the  betrothal  of  Louis  d'Anjou  and 
Catherine  de  Bourgogne  was  accepted  as  a  very 
excellent  mutual  arrangement  ;  indeed,  the  Duke  had 
named  his  intention  of  dowering  the  Princess  with 
50,000  livres  tournois  (-circa  £30,000),  besides 
placing  the  castle  at  the  disposal  of  the  young  couple 
upon  the  consummation  of  the  marriage. 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  71 

There  had  arisen  coolness  and  suspicion  between 
the  Sovereigns  of  France  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
whose  connection  with  the  assassination  of  the  Duke 
of  Orleans,  in  1407,  had  never  been  cleared  up.  The 
Duke,  moreover,  had  seen  good, — in  view  of  his 
professed  claims  to  the  crown  of  France, — to  make 
terms  with  the  King  of  England  which  would,  under 
certain  circumstances,  gain  territorial  aggrandizement 
for  Burgundy,  and  ultimately  the  reversion  to  his 
family  of  the  royal  title.  This  rapprochement  with 
the  hated  invader  of  Northern  France,  — the  foe  at  the 
gates  of  Anjou, — lead  summarily  to  the  renunciation 
by  the  Angevine  Sovereigns  of  all  matrimonial 
affinities  between  the  Houses  of  Anjou  and  Burgundy. 
Little  Princess  Catherine  was  sent  home  to  Dijon, 
and  the  Duke  scouted  the  Anjou  alliance,  and  made 
terms  with  Lorraine,  a  step  which  in  another  decade 
told  disastrously  against  the  son  of  Queen  Yolande. 

She,  on  the  other  hand,  cared  very  little  for  the 
change  of  front  of  Duke  Jean  "  sans  Peur."  Her 
mind  had  all  along  been  made  up  in  the  matter  of  her 
son's  betrothal,  and  her  eyes  were  turned  to  Brittany, 
whose  Sovereigns  were  the  most  stable  and  the  most 
powerful  in  France.  The  dual  crown  of  Sicily- 
Anjou  was  rich,  and  the  prospects  of  the  new 
occupant  of  that  throne  with  respect  to  Naples,  and 
possibly  to  Aragon,  were  of  the  highest ;  consequently 
the  matrimonial  market  was  absolutely  at  her  com- 
mand. Politically  it  was  clear  that  an  alliance  of 
Anjou  and  Brittany  would  more  than  balance  that 
of  Burgundy  and  Lorraine.  Very  tactfully  the 
Angevine  Queen-mother  caused  her  "  cousin "  at 
Nantes  to  know  that  a  nuptial  arrangement  between 
her  son  and  a  daughter  of  Duke  Jean  VI.  would 


72      RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

be  favourably  considered  at  Angers.  To  pave  the 
way  more  auspiciously,  splended  fetes  were  organized 
at  the  castle,  to  which  the  ducal  family  of  Brittany 
were  invited  as  principal  guests  of  honour.  The 
Duke  and  Duchess  were  acccompanied  by  their 
young  daughter,  Princess  Isabelle,  and  were  greatly 
affected  by  their  reception.  In  the  tournaments, 
pageants,  and  floral  games,  the  young  Bretagne 
Princes  gained  all  the  laurels,  whilst  the  blushing 
Princess,  as  the  "  Queen  of  Beauty,"  bestowed  the 
prizes  upon  the  victors. 

On  July  3  a  royal  function  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Angers  brought  the  fetes  to  an  auspicious  finish,  for 
there  Louis  d'Anjou  and  Isabelle  de  Bretagne  were 
formally  espoused,  the  young  couple  being  of  the 
same  age.  Alas  for  the  hopes  of  all  concerned !  the 
Princess, — a  very  beautiful  and  an  accomplished  girl, 
— was  not  destined  to  wear  the  Queen-consort's  crown 
of  Sicily- Anjou.  Before  the  year  was  out  she 
sickened  of  plague, — as  captious  critics  said,  caught 
in  "  Black  Angers," — and  died.  This  was  a  serious 
blow  to  Queen  Yolande's  diplomacy,  but  she  was 
not  the  sort  of  woman  to  waste  time  in  unprofitable 
lamentations. 

By  the  force  of  circumstances,  seen  and  unseen, 
the  Queen-mother's  search  for  favourable  alliances 
and  an  eligible  consort  for  her  son  was  greatly  aided 
by  the  fresh  aggression  of  the  English  under  Henry  V. 
In  face  of  the  common  danger,  which  threatened 
alike  the  western  and  the  eastern  States  of  France, 
Queen  Yolande  found  her  opportunity  of  immensely 
strengthening  the  position  of  her  son's  dominions  by 
detaching  Burgundy  and  Lorraine  from  the  English 
alliance.  At  Saumur  she  signed  the  articles  of  a 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  73 

defensive  and  offensive  treaty  between  the  four  great 
duchies, — Bretagne,  of  course,  being  one, —  La  Ligue 
de  Quatre,  it  was  called. 

Next  to  the  assurance  of  political  security  at 
home,  this  instrument  set  the  astute  Queen  free  to 
turn  her  attention  to  the  support  of  her  son's  claims 
to  the  throne  of  Naples.  First  appertaining  to  the 
older  line  of  Anjou  in  the  person  and  descendants 
of  Jehan,  brother  of  St.  Louis,  they  had  lapsed 
until  King  Louis  I.  of  Sicily- Anjou  asserted  his  right 
as  head  of  the  younger  line  of  Anjou  in  virtue  of  the 
grant  by  his  father,  King  John  the  "  Good."  These 
prerogatives,  alas  !  Louis  II.  had  lost  the  year  he 
died,  and  their  reacquisition  was  the  destiny  of  his 
son.  In  furtherance  of  these  duties,  Queen  Yolande 
conceived  that  an  Italian  alliance,  with  the  corollary 
of  a  matrimonial  contract  for  the  young  King,  were 
indicated,  and  she  set  to  work  to  elaborate  a  scheme 
which  should  achieve  the  ends  in  view. 

In  September,  1418,  Queen  Yolande  opened 
negotiations  directly  with  Amadeo  VIII.,  Duke  of 
Savoy,  first  for  his  assistance  in  the  field  of  battle,  and 
next  for  the  betrothal  of  his  daughter  Margherita, 
then  an  infant  of  three  years  old.  A  treaty  was 
signed  on  October  18,  wherein  the  Duke  agreed  to 
receive  young  King  Louis  in  Savoy,  and  either 
personally  to  accompany  him  through  the  proposed 
campaign,  or  at  least  to  see  his  embarkation  at 
Genoa  at  the  head  of  a  Savoyard  contingent  of  ten 
thousand  men-at-arms,  for  the  recovery  of  the  crown 
of  Naples.  One  clause  ceded  the  county  of  Nice  to 
Savoy  in  lieu  of  moneys  borrowed  by  Louis  II.  for 
his  Naples  expedition.  Appended  to  this  treaty  was 
the  marriage  contract,  which  appointed  Chambery, — 


74      RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

the  capital  of  Savoy, — as  the  place,  and  Lady  Day 
the  following  year  as  the  date,  for  the  formal  espousal 
of  Louis  and  Margherita. 

Steps  were  at  once  taken  for  the  young  King  to 
enter  upon  his  expedition  in  a  manner  suited  to  his 
rank  and  commensurate  with  the  military  movements 
of  the  time.  Angers  once  more  resounded  to  the 
metallic  music  of  armourers.  A  Guild  of  Sword- 
Cutlers  was  incorporated,  arid  skilled  craftsmen 
from  Aragon  were  again  welcomed  by  the  Queen. 
Masters  of  Arms,  too,  were  invited  to  give  Louis 
the  best  instruction  in  warlike  exercises,  Yolande 
herself  meanwhile  inculcating  lessons  of  hardihood, 
chivalry,  and  patriotism.  Hers,  happily,  was  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  these  efforts  were 
productive  of  the  best  results,  for  the  youthful 
Sovereign  quickly  became  an  expert  and  an  en- 
thusiast. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  young  King  took 
much  interest  in  the  matrimonial  part  of  the  nego- 
tiations. An  unripe  boy  of  sixteen  would  naturally 
be  very  much  more  affected  by  military  prowess  than 
by  uxorious  daintiness.  The  service  of  Mars  was 
very  much  more  to  his  liking  than  that  of  Venus, 
and  he  addressed  himself  zealously  to  the  task  of 
winning  back  his  grandfather's  crown  and  sceptre, 
which  his  father  had  failed  to  retain.  It  was  doubt- 
less a  daring  enterprise  for  a  youth  to  undertake, 
but  we  may  be  quite  sure  that  he  inherited  not 
a  little  of  his  family's  well  known  fearlessness. 
Province  was  denuded  of  her  garrisons,  and  Languedoc 
also  ;  but  no  men  could  be  spared  from  Anjou  and 
Bar,  and  it  was  but  the  nucleus  of  an  army  which 
Queen  Yolande  reviewed  at  Marseilles,  whither  she 


f^jm^\^y^£  '/"T^ar1 

;>v:->v.'^* 

- 

*. 


.  ^  >i-*-/"-i^^i^     r^Vj^.v 


COMMUNION   OF   A   KNIGHT 
Sculpture  from  Interior,  Western  Facade,  Reims  Cathedral 


To  face  page  74 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  75 

went  to  bid  adieu  to  her  dearly  loved  son  upon  his 
adventurous  career. 

Louis  sailed  for  Genoa,  where  he  met  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  and  took  command  of  his  contingent.  He 
anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Naples  on  August  15,  1420, 
a  day  full  of  favourable  omens.  On  the  voyage  he 
fell  in  with  the  fleet  of  the  King  of  Aragon,  his  rival 
for  the  crown  of  Naples,  and  worsted  it.  At  once  he 
went  off  to  Aversa,  where  the  Queen  of  Naples, 
Giovanna  II.,  received  him  with  open  arms.  His 
nawetS  delighted  her,  jaded  as  she  was  with  the 
attentions  of  willing  and  unwilling  aspirants  for  her 
favours.  She  created  him  Duke  of  Calabria,  and 
proclaimed  him  her  heir  in  lieu  of  the  defeated  and 
discredited  Alfonso. 

It  was  a  perilous  position  for  the  vigorous  and 
gallant  stripling  Prince,  but  the  counsels  of  his 
virtuous  mother  were  not  thrown  away.  The  young 
King  refused  the  amorous  royal  overtures  success- 
fully, and  having  kissed  the  Queen's  hand,  he  offered 
a  plausible  excuse,  and  speedily  took  his  departure  for 
Rome.  The  Supreme  Pontiff  extended  to  the 
youthful  hero  his  paternal  benediction,  and  detained 
him  at  the  Vatican  just  long  enough  to  invest  him 
with  the  title  of  King  of  Naples,  in  place,  as  His  Holi- 
ness wished,  of  the  worthless  and  abandoned  Queen. 
Thence  Louis  travelled  on  to  Florence  and  Milan, 
and  obtained  promises  of  substantial  assistance  from 
their  rulers  against  the  pretensions  of  the  King  of 
Aragon. 

But  to  return  to  Anjou  and  the  "  good  mother " 
there,  the  anxious  and  busy  Queen  Yolande. 

The  Revue  Numismatique  du  Maine  contains 
muny  paragraphs  recounting  the  Queen's  prudence 


76      RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

and  activity  in  military  matters.  Under  date  June  1 0, 
1418,  for  example,  she  issued  an  order  to  the 
Seneschal  and  Treasurer  of  Provence  "  to  reimburse 
one  Jehan  Crepin,  keeper  of  the  Castle  of  Forcalquier, 
whence  one  of  the  sovereign  titles  are  taken,  the 
advance  made  by  him  for  the  reparation  of  the  said 
castle."  On  February  18,  1419,  the  States  of 
Provence  assembled  at  Aix  besought  the  Queen,  as 
head  of  the  State,  "  to  suppress  the  tax  which  had 
been  levied  upon  the  circulation  of  foreign  money, 
with  a  view  to  greater  facilities  being  accorded  for 
the  payment  of  sums  required  for  the  defence  of  the 
country."  A  few  years  later, — in  1427, — the  authori- 
ties of  the  city  of  Marseilles  prayed  the  Queen,  then 
at  Tarascon,  to  authorize  them  to  impose  a  poll-tax 
upon  all  foreign  merchants  in  the  port,  "  so  that  the 
funds  at  their  command  might  be  enlarged,  for  the 
express  purpose  of  fitting  out  vessels  of  war."  The 
inhabitants  of  Martignes,  which  county  Yolande  had 
brought,  on  her  marriage,  to  the  possessions  of  her 
husband, — on  December  20,  1419, — sought  for  their 
Queen-Countess,  as  ruler  and  administrator,  the  right 
to  retain  certain  dues  on  the  production  of  salt  for  the 
defence  of  their  coast-line.  There  are  very  many 
such  entries  in  the  State  papers  of  the  reign  ;  indeed, 
both  before  and  after  the  departure  of  Louis  III.  for 
Naples,  Queen  Yolande  was  recognized  as  responsible 
ruler  for  her  son. 

II. 

If  Louis's  matrimonial  prospects  were  somewhat 
clouded  by  the  extreme  youth  of  his  child-bride, 
the  Queen  was  by  no  means  discouraged  in  her 
policy  of  influential  alliances.  Her  second  son,  Rene', 


YOLANDA  TARRAGONA  77 

who  had  won  all  hearts  in  Barrois,  was  actually 
married  to  Princess  Isabelle  of  Lorraine  in  1420, 
although  she  was  no  more  than  nine  years  old,  and  he 
but  twelve.  This  match  was,  however,  not  wholly 
the  work  of  Queen  Yolande ;  her  ideas,  however, 
were  those  which  impelled  her  uncle,  Cardinal  Louis 
de  Bar,  directly  to  ask  the  hand  of  the  juvenile 
Princess. 

The  year  before  this  precocious  marriage  the 
Cardinal  had  formally  proclaimed  Rene  his  heir  to 
the  duchy  of  Bar,  and  created  him  Marquis  of 
Pont-a-Mousson.  This  action  greatly  displeased 
Arnould,  Duke  of  Berg,  whose  wife  was  Marie  de 
Bar,  a  sister  of  the  Cardinal.  She  preferred  claims 
to  the  succession  as  next  of  kin  to  her  brother,  and 
when  she  was  refused,  the  Duke  took  up  arms  and 
advanced  upon  Bar-le-Duc.  The  movement  failed, 
and  young  Rene  saw  the  Duke's  dead  body  taken 
away  for  burial  without  emotion.  The  young  Prince 
had  been  for  nearly  two  years  residing  at  his  great- 
uncle's  castle,  under  his  immediate  care  and  instruc- 
tion. Among  the  tutors  chosen  for  his  training  were 
Maestre  Jehan  de  Proviesey,  a  grammarian  and 
Latinist,  and  Maestre  Antoine  de  la  Salle,  poet  and 
musician.  Such  instructors  were  de  rigueur,  of 
course,  for  the  true  development  of  a  perfect  gentle- 
man and  courtier.  The  latter  master  wrote  a  treatise 
entitled  "  Les  quinze  joyes  de  la  mariage  :  instructions 
addresses  aux  jeunes  hommes."  This  he  dedicated  to 
his  pupil,  Prince  Rend  Among  the  quaint  aphorisms 
it  contains,  this  must  have  caused  more  than  a  smile 
on  the  part  of  the  young  knight  : 

"Bon  cheval,  mauvais  cheval,  veut  I'esperon ; 
Bonne  femme,  mauvaise  femme,  veut  It.  boston  /" 


78      RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Perhaps  the  pith  of  the  treatise  is  expressed  in  the 
neat  quintet  : 

"  Quattuor  sunt  que  mulieres  summe  cupiunt, 
A  formis  amari  juvenibus, 
Pottere  fillis  pluribus 
Ornari  preciosis  vestibus 
Et  dominwi  pre  ceteris  in  domibus." 

Rent's  time  was,  however,  not  wholly  absorbed  by 
his  studies  in  school  and  Court,  for  he  bestrode  his 
warhorse  like  a  man,  and  rode  forth  by  his  great- 
uncle's  side  on  punitive  expeditions  against  recalci- 
trant vassals  and  against  the  incursions  of  freebooters, 
who  under  the  designation  of  "  Soudoyers  "  were  de- 
vastating the  duchy.  It  was  said  of  the  Cardinal : 
"  II  savait  au  besoin  porter  ung  bassinet  pour  mitre 
et  pour  croix  d'or  un  tache  d'acier  /" 

Directly  Duke  Robert  died,  and  the  succession  fell 
to  an  ecclesiastic,  the  dissatisfied  subjects  of  the 
Barrois  crown  considered  it  a  favourable  opportunity 
for  throwing  off  their  allegiance.  Jean  de  Luxem- 
bourg, a  cousin  of  the  widowed  Duchess  Marie,  and 
Robert  de  Sarrebouche, — at  the  extreme  limits  of  the 
territories  of  the  duchy, — were  perhaps  the  most 
conspicuous  for  their  infidelity.  The  Cardinal-Duke 
struck  home  at  once,  and  both  rebels  surrendered. 
In  the  case  of  the  latter,  Prince  Rene  was  put  for- 
ward to  receive  his  submission,  on  his  great-uncle's 
behalf.  The  "  proud  Sieur  de  Commercy,"  as  he  was 
called,  was  compelled  to  kneel  in  the  market-place  of 
Commercy  before  the  boy-knight,  and,  putting  his 
great  hands  between  the  tender  palms  of  his  Prince, 
obliged  to  swear  as  vostre  homme  et  vostre  vassail ! 
The  Prince's  bearing  in  this  his  first  military  cam- 
paign was  beyond  all  praise,  and  the  Cardinal  was 


VOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  79 

delighted  with  his  chivalry.  The  Duke  of  Lorraine 
sent  to  compliment  him  upon  his  courage,  and  his 
doting  mother,  Queen  Yolande,  held  a  ten  -  days 
festival  at  Angers,  and  rang  all  the  church  bells  in 
honour  of  her  son's  baptism  of  blood. 

These  exploits  caused  the  youthful  hero  to  carry 
himself  proudly,  and  greatly  increased  his  self-conceit. 
This  latter  development  had  an  amusing  and  yet  a 
very  natural  sequel.  The  Prince  with  his  own  hand, 
under  the  instruction  of  Maestre  Jehan  de  Proviesey, 
wrote  letters  to  all  the  leading  men  of  Angers,  Pro- 
vence, Barrois,  and  Lorraine,  in  which  he  enlarged 
upon  the  boldness  of  his  conduct ;  and  inditing  sen- 
tentious maxims,  he  sought  their  approbation  and 
good-will.  The  Cardinal-Duke  doubtless  smiled  good- 
humouredly  at  these  juvenile  effusions,  but  at  the 
same  time  he  reconstituted  the  Barrois  knightly 
"  Ordre  de  la  Fidelite"  which  embraced  as  members 
all  the  young  French  Princes,  and  created  Rene  de 
Bar,  as  he  was  now  called,  first  and  principal  Knight. 
The  Prince  henceforward  wore  the  motto  of  his  Order 
embroidered  upon  his  berretta  and  chimere — "  Tout 
Ung  " — and  chose  it  as  his  gage  de  guerre. 

Louis  de  Bar  had,  however,  other  duties  and 
pursuits  to  place  before  his  favourite  nephew.  At 
the  Court  of  Dijon  resided  two  famous  Flemish 
painters,  brothers — Hubert  and  Jehan  Van  Eyck, 
pensioners  of  the  enlightened  Duke  of  Burgundy. 
By  means  of  bribes  and  other  influences  brought  to 
bear,  they  were  induced  to  remove  to  Bar-le-Duc, 
and  with  them  came  Petrus  Christus  and  other 
pupils.  Keen  patron  of  the  arts  and  crafts,  the 
Cardinal-Duke  encouraged  his  principal  courtiers  and 

vassals  to  send  their  sons  to  them  for  instruction  in 

6 


80      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

the  art  of  painting.  The  first  pupil  enrolled  in 
Barrois  upon  the  books  of  the  Van  Eycks  was  none 
other  than  Prince  Rene',  and  no  pupil  showed  greater 
talent  and  greater  perseverance.  His  uncle  once  said 
to  him  :  "  Rene,  if  thou  wast  not  destined  to  succeed 
me  as  Duke  of  Bar  and  leader  of  her  armies,  I  would 
make  of  thee  an  artist."  In  his  veins,  we  must 
remember,  ran  Flemish  blood, — his  famous  and 
talented  ancestress,  the  Countess-Princess  lolande, 
came  from  Flanders, — and  these  excellent  pigment 
masters  appear  to  have  stirred  qualities  in  the  young 
Prince  which  eventually  proclaimed  him  the  foremost 
royal  artist  in  Europe. 

The  Cardinal  also  inculcated  in  his  nephew  the  love 
and  taste  for  objects  of  beauty.  He  was  himself  a 
proficient  in  the  craft  of  goldsmithery,  and,  more- 
over, possessed  a  very  magnificent  collection  of  gold 
and  silver  work.  Part  of  this  had  come  to  him  from 
her  mother,  Duchess  Marie  of  France,  who  took  to 
Bar  her  share  of  her  father's  treasures,  the  good  King 
John.  Of  these,  the  Cardinal  presented  to  Pope 
John  XXIII.  in  1414  a  writing-table  made  of  cedar, 
covered  with  plates  of  solid  gold,  and  the  superb  gold 
chalice  and  paten  which  are  still  used  in  the  Papal 
chapel  at  Rome  at  special  Masses  by  His  Holiness 
himself.  Another  precious  goblet,  mounted  with 
sapphires  and  rubies,  was  bequeathed  to  the  Car- 
dinal's sister,  the  Princess  Bonne,  Countess  of  Ligny. 

The  ducal  gardens  at  Bar-le-Duc  were  famous. 
The  Cardinal  sent  to  Italy  for  skilled  gardeners,  who 
reproduced  something  of  the  terrestrial  glories  of  that 
favoured  land.  Tuscan  sculptors  and  Venetian  decora- 
tive painters  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  gardeners, 
who  not  only  designed  architectural  terraces  with 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  81 

marble  statues  and  garden-pavilions  with  painted 
ceilings,  but  also  designed  and  minted  medals  and 
plaques  of  the  Cardinal,  Prince  Rene',  and  other 
members  of  the  family.  Naturally,  the  young  Heredi- 
tary Duke  revelled  in  these  graceful  settings  for  the 
floral  games  and  festive  pastimes  which  made  the 
Barrois  Court,  even  in  the  absence  of  a  reigning 
Duchess,  the  rendezvous  of  poets,  gallants,  and 
beauties.  Here,  too,  the  Prince's  natural  love  for 
music  had  full  play  ;  he  became  a  poet  and  a  trouba- 
dour "  in  little,"  if  not  in  "  great."  In  a  very  real 
kind  of  way  Rene"s  training  in  the  arts  of  war  and  in 
the  arts  of  peace  was  the  very  same  which  made  a 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici  at  Florence  and  a  Francesco 
Sforza  at  Milan. 

Amid  all  these  occupations,  the  Prince  had  few 
opportunities  for  visiting  his  birthplace,  Angers,  and 
his  devoted  mother  there.  Travelling  was  very 
insecure,  and  the  Cardinal  disparaged  any  expedition 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  duchy.  Only  one  such 
visit  is  recorded,  and  that  in  1422,  when  Rene  took 
his  absent  brother's  place  to  give  away  his  favourite 
sister  Marie  to  Charles  VII.  of  France,  and  then 
Queen  Yolande  once  more  embraced  her  son.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Prince  was  permitted  by  his  uncle 
to  vigorously  assist  King  Charles  against  Louis  de 
Chalons,  Prince  of  Orange,  who  was  devastating 
Dauphind  In  another  direction  the  young  warrior 
gained  laurels  also.  Named  protector  of  the  city  of 
Verdun,  he  destroyed  the  rebel  castle  of  Renancourt 
and  the  fortresses  of  La  Ferte",  and  hastened  to  the 
assistance  of  his  kinsman,  the  Count  of  Ligny,  at 
Baumont  en  Argonne.  Guillaume  de  Flavy  and 
Jehan  de  Mattaincourt  surrendered,  and  Rene*  cleared 


82       REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

the  country  of  disaffected  marauders  and  adven- 
turers. 

Charles  V.'s  speech  at  the  siege  of  Metz  one 
hundred  years  later  might  very  well  have  fitted  the 
youthful  conqueror  in  Barrois  :  "  Fortune  is  a 
woman  :  she  favours  only  the  young." 

Queen  Yolande's  eldest  son,  Louis  III.,  was  mean- 
while meeting  with  varying  fortunes  in  Italy,  but  the 
slow  progress  of  his  campaign  greatly  chagrined  his 
dauntless  mother.  She  actually  made  up  her  mind 
to  set  out  for  Naples  in  person  to  try  and  turn  the 
slow  tide  of  victory  into  an  overpowering  flood  ;  but 
Anjou  was  too  closely  invested  by  the  English  for  the 
realization  of  her  project.  Here,  however,  the  Queen 
had  her  militant  opportunity,  for  at  the  bloody  battle 
of  Bauge, — between  La  Fleche  and  Saumur, — in 
1421,  the  English  were  routed  and  so  greatly  dis- 
heartened that  they  evacuated  all  their  strategic 
points  within  and  around  the  duchy.  That  victory 
was  gained  directly  by  Queen  Yolande,  who  com- 
manded in  person,  sitting  astride  a  great  white 
charger,  clothed  in  steel  and  silver  mail.  Some  years 
later  King  Rene  built  an  imposing  castle  upon  the 
heights  overlooking  the  field  of  battle  in  memory  of 
his  mother's  valour. 

The  Queen's  warlike  ardour,  however,  received  a 
check,  for  Queen  Marie,  driven  with  King  Charles 
before  the  all- conquering  English,  escaped  to  Bourges, 
and  there  begged  her  mother  to  hasten  to  her  side. 
She  needed,  not  a  mailed  woman's  fist,  but  the  gentle 
hand  of  her  good  mother  at  her  accouchement.  Louis 
le  Dauphin,  her  first-born,  saw  the  light  in  the  Arch- 
bishop's Palace  on  July  3,  1423.  Those  days  were 
dark  indeed  for  France,  but  a  brilliant  star  was  about 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  83 

to  rise  above  her  eastern  horizon.  Towards  the  end 
of  1428  strange  reports  began  to  spread  all  over  the 
stricken  country  concerning  a  simple  village  maiden  in 
far-off  Champagne,  to  whom,  in  the  obscure  village  of 
Domremy,  Divine  visions  had  been  vouchsafed.  Her 
mission,  it  was  stated,  was  nothing  less  than  the 
deliverance  of  France  and  the  coronation  of  King 
Charles  at  Reims. 

Nowhere  did  the  mysterious  tidings  create  greater 
interest  than  among  the  members  of  the  Royal  Families 
and  Courts  of  Sicily- Anjou  and  France.  When  the 
news  of  Jeanne  d' Arc's  arrival  with  Duke  Rene' 
reached  Angers,  Queen  Yolande  set  out  at  once  for 
Chin  on,  that  she  might  judge  for  herself  of  the  girl 
and  her  mission.  Very  greatly  struck  was  the  Queen 
by  the  maid's  youth,  comeliness,  and  innocence.  Her 
simple  manners  and  unaffected  devotion  convinced 
Yolande  that  she  had  no  adventuress  to  deal  with. 
She  conversed  freely  with  her,  and  her  simple  narra- 
tive and  fearless  courage  determined  her  to  take  the 
maid  under  her  direct  patronage.  When  it  was 
proposed  to  inquire  formally  into  Jeanne's  character 
and  mental  bias,  the  Queen  promptly  allocated  to  her- 
self that  duty.  She  called  to  her  assistance  three 
ladies  of  her  Court  of  good  repute.  Jehan  Pas- 
querelle  has  quaintly  recorded  this  plenary  council 
of  matrons  :  "  Fust  icelle  Pucelle  baillee  a  la  Royne 
de  Cecile,  mbre  de  la  Royne,  nostre  souveraine,  et  d 
certaines  dames  d'estant  avec  elle,  dont  estoient  les 
Dames  de  Gaucourt,  de  Fiennes,  et  de  Tr&ves" 
Another  chronicler  adds  the  name  of  Jeanne  de 
Mortemar,  wife  of  the  Chancellor,  Robert  le  Ma9on. 
Their  verdict  was  a  complete  vindication  of  Jeanne's 
honour  and  sincerity. 


84      RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

The  tongue  of  slander  had  associated  Ren^  and 
Jeanne  in  a  liaison.  The  Court  of  Chinon  was  full 
of  evil  gossip,  and  the  more  ill-conditioned  courtiers 
and  hirelings,  both  men  and  women,  revelled  in  com- 
promising insinuations  and  coarse  jests.  Queen 
Yolande  determined  once  and  for  all  to  put  an  end 
to  these  baseless  and  foul  rumours.  She  knew  her 
son  too  well  to  doubt  his  honour,  and  now  she 
pledged  herself  to  defend  that  of  the  village  maid. 
Several  of  the  offenders  were  dismissed  the  service 
of  the  King,  and  warned  to  hold  their  tongue,  unless 
they  wished  for  condign  punishment. 

History  has  done  scant  justice  to  Queen  Yolande 
for  the  part  she  bore  in  the  drama  of  Jeanne  d'Arc. 
It  was  in  a  very  great  measure  due  to  her  that  the 
maid's  mission  was  carried  out.  Whilst  Charles  was 
dallying  with  his  idle  associates  and  procrastinating  in 
his  military  measures,  Yolande  played  the  man.  Her 
intrepid  counsels  and  fearless  insistence  were  the 
levers  which  moved  his  son-in-law's  inertness.  There 
is  a  story  told  that,  when  Queen  Marie's  gentle 
chiding  had  failed  to  rouse  her  desponding  consort, 
Queen  Yolande  appeared  before  him  clothed  in  full 
armour,  and  demanded  why  the  King  of  France 
skulked  in  his  castle  ! 

"  See,  Charles,"  she  said,  "  if  you  refuse  to  follow 
La  Pucelle  at  once  and  do  your  duty  to  God  and  to 
your  country,  I  will  go  forth  as  your  lieutenant,  and 
in  person  lead  your  army  against  the  English.  But 
shame  to  you  to  trust  in  a  woman's  arm  rather  than 
your  own !  Rouse  you  like  a  man,  and  begone  !" 

This  emphatic  order  fairly  called  out  Charles's 
manhood,  roused,  to  be  sure,  by  the  mission  of 
Jeanne  d'Arc.  Nothing  excites  a  man  more  than  a 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  85 

woman's  threats  to  take  his  place  and  do  his  work  ; 
and  many  women  can  be  as  good  as  their  word,  and 
one  of  these  was  Yolande  of  Sicily- Anjou-Aragon. 

The  noble  patriotic  Queen-mother,  moreover, 
backed  her  stout  words  by  actions  firm.  With  that 
splendid  unselfishness  which  marked  her  character,  she 
raised  a  considerable  sum  of  money  by  the  sale  of  her 
jewellery  and  other  precious  possessions,  and  applied  it, 
together  with  the  substantial  offerings  of  her  devoted 
subjects,  to  the  fitting  out  of  a  convoy  of  provisions 
and  necessaries  for  the  besieged  garrison  of  Orleans. 
She  also  persuaded  the  University  of  Angers,  which 
her  late  consort,  Louis  II.,  had  founded  in  1398,  to 
vote  a  goodly  sum  of  money  towards  the  King's 
expenses.  Charles,  stirred  by  the  gentleness  of 
Jeanne  and  the  vigour  of  Yolande,  was  no  longer 
despondent.  The  Queen  thankfully  noted  his  con- 
fidence in  his  mysterious  guide  from  Domremy,  but 
she  remained  at  Chinon  until  she  had  seen  him 
and  his  equipage  take  boat  upon  the  Loire.  His 
last  words  to  his  mother-in-law  were  :  "  Yes,  now  I 
am  on  my  way  to  Reims  with  Jeanne,  my  oracle,  my 
Queen  —  ma  Royne  blanche :  tons  pour  Dieu  et  la 
France  /"  Yolande  then  quietly  returned  to  her  castle 
at  Angers,  and  Anjou  once  more  greeted  the  King's 
guardian  and  the  Lieutenant-General  of  his  dominions. 

The  decade  had  its  consolations  as  well  as  its 
troubles,  and  among  them  Queen  Yolande  rejoiced 
at  the  births  of  vigorous  grandchildren.  To  Queen 
Marie  were  born  Princesses  Jeanne  and  Yolande,  as 
well  as  the  Dauphin  Louis  ;  and  to  Duke  Rene', 
Jean,  Louis,  Nicholas,  Yolande,  and  Marguerite,  in 
lawful  wedlock.  The  Queen-mother,  too,  had  satis- 
faction in  the  less  disturbed  state  of  Barrois  and 


86      REN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Lorraine,  of  receiving  at  Angers  her  son  Rene  and 
his  fair  young  wife  Isabelle.  He  had  added  to  the 
bays  of  victory  the  palms  of  peace,  and  his  fame  as 
an  administrator  of  justice  and  charity  was  already 
spread  abroad. 

The  Cardinal-Duke  Louis  was  ageing  rapidly,  and 
he  executed  his  final  testament  whilst  his  nephew 
and  niece  were  in  Anjou.  Everything  was  left  to 
Rene,  who  had  as  much  as  he  could  do  to  get  back 
to  Bar-le-Duc  in  time  to  receive  his  uncle's  last 
blessing  and  close  his  eyes  in  death.  The  dying 
Prince  was  at  the  Abbey  of  Varennes  when  he 
breathed  his  last,  on  February  15,  1431.  Duke 
Rene'  was  at  once  proclaimed  his  successor,  and  the 
Estates  of  Barrois  did  their  homage  heartily.  The 
career  of  the  young  Duke  had  been  developed  under 
the  approving  eyes  of  his  uncle's  subjects,  and  his 
marriage  with  Isabelle  de  Lorraine  had  been 
immensely  popular.  The  new  reign  opened,  then, 
under  the  happiest  auspices. 

Rene's  future  being  thus  amply  provided  for, — his 
hand  was  also  on  the  throne  of  Lorraine, — Queen 
Yolande  turned  her  attention  to  the  settlement  in 
life  of  her  younger  children — Yolande,  just  eighteen, 
and  Charles,  two  years  younger.  For  her  daughter, 
whose  espousal  three  years  before  to  Jehan,  Comte 
d'Alen§on,  had  not  led  to  marriage,  the  Queen 
sought  once  more  an  alliance  with  the  House  of 
Bretagne.  The  Duke's  eldest  son,  Fran£ois,  Comte 
de  Montfort,  who  had  been  first  champion  at  the 
Angers  tournament  in  1417,  was  the  chosen  bride- 
groom. He,  indeed,  had  seen  and  played  with  the 
Princess  then,  but  she  was  a  little  child  of  five  ; 
their  betrothal,  however,  had  been  considered,  and 


STREET     SCENE     IN     AIX     OF     PROVENCE 
FOREGROUND  :   MIRACLE    OF    ST.   MAX1ME 

From.a  Painting  by  Nicholas  Froment  (1475-76).    Aix  Cathedral 


To  face  page  8(5 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  87 

only  hindered  by  the  military  exigencies  of  the  time. 
The  Prince  was  in  person  as  handsome  as  could  be, 
and  talented,  but  his  character  was  not  one  that 
Queen  Yolande  looked  for  in  a  son-in-law.  More 
addicted  to  warlike  deeds  and  the  free  licence  of  a 
soldier's  calling,  he  had  little  taste  for  peaceful 
pursuits,  and  still  less  for  the  restrictions  of  family 
life.  He  was,  like  most  Princes  at  the  time,  more  or 
less  of  a  de'bauche,  and  his  fair  fame  was  besmirched 
by  sordid  and  licentious  habits.  Still,  the  Comte  de 
Montfort  stood  for  political  advantages,  and  questions 
of  character  were  counted  of  less  importance.  The 
royal  nuptials  were  celebrated  in  due  course  at  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  Pierre  at  Nantes,  the  capital  of 
Brittany,  on  July  1,  1431,  in  the  presence  of  Queen 
Yolande  and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Barrois. 
Alas !  once  more  marriage  proved  a  failure,  for  the 
year  following  the  home-coming  of  the  Count  and 
Countess  he  was  slain  in  a  foray  with  the  English, 
leaving  his  childless  young  widow  to  bewail  her 
ill-luck  alone. 

The  marriage  of  Prince  Charles  d'Anjou  was 
delayed  many  years,  and  his  experience  of  the 
vicissitudes  of  Cupid's  thraldom  was  almost  identical 
with  that  of  King  Louis  III.,  his  elder  brother. 
Affianced  in  1431,  at  the  same  time  as  his  sister 
Yolande,  to  a  daughter  of  Guy,  Count  of  Laval, 
his  brother  Rene's  bosom  friend,  and  one  of  Jeanne 
d' Arc's  preux  cavaliers,  another  Yolande,  he  broke 
off  the  match  because  the  infant  Princess, — she 
but  three  years  old, — was  "  so  plain  and  weak." 
"  Besides,"  said  he,  "  I  will  not  wait  twelve  years 
for  her."  He  was  himself  just  seventeen.  The 
baby-fiancee's  mother  was  a  Bretagne  princess, 


88      RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Isabelle,  a  daughter  of  Queen  Yolande's  great  ally, 
Duke  Jehan  VI.  The  young  Prince  had  in  his 
mind  another  amour,  perhaps  hardly  in  his  heart ; 
but  he  had  seen  and  admired,  when  assisting  at  the 
sacre  of  King  Charles  VII.,  his  brother-in-law,  at 
Reims,  a  Princess  of  Champagne,  and,  much  against 
his  mother's  wish,  he  bespoke  her  for  his  own.  They 
were  betrothed  at  the  ancient  castle  of  Coucy,  near 
Soissons,  in  1435.  This  match,  too,  came  to 
nothing,  for  the  fair  fiancee,  Catherine,  perished  in 
the  flames  of  her  boudoir  curtains,  set  on  fire  by 
accident,  and  left  her  young  Prince  of  twenty-one  free 
to  step  along  the  uncertain  path  of  courtship  once 
more.  Such  were  some  of  the  ups  and  downs  of  the 
Queen  of  Sicily- Anjou  and  of  her  family. 

The  death  of  Charles  II.,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  on 
January  25,  1431,  saw  the  reunion, — after  a  century 
or  more  apart, — -of  Bar  and  Lorraine  under  one 
Sovereign.  Duke  Rene  and  his  Duchess  Isabelle 
had  resided  more  or  less  quietly  for  ten  years  at  the 
Castle  of  Bar-le-Duc,  and  there  the  greater  part  of 
their  family  was  born.  Now  they  prepared  to  move  to 
Nancy,  but  their  way,  which  Duke  Charles  had,  as 
he  thought,  secured,  was  barred,  and  Rene  was  called 
out  to  fight  for  his  throne.  Antoine,  Comte  de 
Vaude"mont,  Duke  Charles's  eldest  nephew,  thrust  the 
provisions  of  the  Salic  Law  in  the  new  Duke's  face, 
and  drew  his  sword  to  enforce  his  action.  Varied 
were  the  fortunes  of  the  civil  war,  but  at  the  Battle 
of  Bulgneville  Duke  Rene'  was  taken  prisoner  by 
Philippe,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  supported  his 
kinsman  Vaudemont,  and  was  kept  in  captivity  for 
nearly  three  years.  In  vain  Queen  Yolande  tried 
every  expedient  to  set  her  son  free.  His  captors 


YOLANDA  TARRAGONA  89 

required  his  absolute  renunciation  of  the  duchy  of 
Lorraine,  and  would  accept  no  compromise.  Then 
came  another  crushing  blow.  Louis  III.,  King  of 
Sicily,  Naples,  and  Jerusalem,  Duke  of  Anjou,  and 
Count  of  Provence,  died  of  fever  at  Cosenza,  the 
capital  of  Calabria,  on  November  15,  1434,  lamented 
alike  by  friend  and  foe.  Queen  Giovanna  had  in 
1424  created  him  Duke  of  Calabria,  but  many 
attributed  his  death,  indeed,  to  poison  administered 
by  order  of  the  Queen.  Never  was  there  a  more 
gentle  nor  a  braver  Prince — "  Vescarboucle  de  gentil- 
esse,"  he  was  styled  in  the  annals  of  chivalry.  His 
devoted  mother,  of  course,  was  not  with  him  ;  she 
was  broken-hearted  at  Marseilles.  Cast  down  by 
grief  unspeakable,  the  young  Queen  of  Sicily- Anjou 
and  Naples,  Margherita,  still  a  bride,  was  by  his  side 
to  console  his  last  hours.  They  had  been  married  by 
proxy  at  Geneva, — not  at  Chambery,  as  arranged, — 
years  before,  but  had  sworn  to  each  other  recently  in 
the  Cathedral  of  Cosenza.  Alas  !  no  son  was  left  to 
succeed  his  father  and  cheer  his  mother's  heart ;  their 
only  child,  a  little  daughter,  had  survived  her  birth  a 
short  six  weeks. 

Queen  Giovanna,  in  spite  of  her  iniquity  in  seeking 
to  foist  upon  Rene"  d Anjou  and  Bar  a  child  not  his 
nor  hers,  in  all  probability,  but  so  acknowledged, 
made  no  opposition  to  his  proclamation  as  King  of 
Naples  or  the  Two  Sicilies.  What  an  exquisite  piece 
of  irony  it  was,  to  be  sure  —  a  King  proclaimed 
when  fast  bound  in  prison,  a  crayon  for  a  sceptre  in 
his  hand,  his  crown  a  drab  berretta  !  Three  devoted 
women,  good  and  bad,  supported  the  royal  captive's 
prerogatives — three  Queens  indeed  :  Yolande  was  for 
Anjou  and  Provence,  Isabelle  for  Barrois  and 


90      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Lorraine,  and  Giovanna  for  Naples  and  Sicily  ;  whilst 
a  fourth,  Queen  Margherita,  looked  to  the  donjon  of 
Dijon  for  clemency.  It  was  said  that  a  copy  of  King 
Rene"s  proclamation  was  fixed  upon  the  portal  of  his 
prison  in  insolent  derision.  "Sic  transit  gloria  mundi  " 
might  well  have  been  penned  beneath  it. 

Upon  King  Renews  succession  to  the  throne  of 
Sicily- Anjou,  Queen  Yolande  continued  to  act  as  his 
Lieutenant-General  for  Anjou  and  Provence,  and  left 
negotiations  for  his  release  to  the  young  Queen - 
Duchess  Isabelle,  who  was  very  much  more  favour- 
ably placed,  and  near  at  hand  to  serve  the  royal 
prisoner's  interests.  She  spent  most  of  her  time  in 
Anjou,  but  paid  many  visits  to  Marseilles,  her 
favourite  residence  in  Provence.  She  never  crossed 
the  Aragonese  frontier  ;  she  could  have  done  so  only 
as  Queen-regnant,  which  of  course  was  impossible. 
However,  she  named  her  grandson  Jean,  Duke  of 
Calabria,  King  Renews  eldest  son,  as  the  heir  to  her 
ancestral  claims. 

The  Queen-mother's  presence  in  Anjou  was  neces- 
sary in  the  interests  of  her  daughter,  Queen  Marie  of 
France,  and  she  never  relaxed  her  control  of  the 
policy  of  her  royal  son-in-law.  At  each  accouche- 
ment of  the  French  Queen  her  devoted  mother 
assisted,  and  it  was  a  long  family  of  grandchildren  she 
nursed  upon  her  knee.  Her  succour  in  sickness,  her 
stay  in  trouble,  and  her  help  in  poverty,  were  im- 
measurably precious  to  the  fugitive  Sovereigns.  In 
1437  Queen  Yolande  had  the  felicity  also  of  receiving 
her  son  Rene",  after  his  release  from  durance  vile,  in 
the  Castle  of  Tine,  near  Saumur,  and  with  him  came 
Queen  Isabelle  and  her  children, — Prince  Jean,  the 
eldest,  being  a  fine  lad  of  eleven.  It  was  a  season  of 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  91 

universal  rejoicing  in  Anjou,  and  the  Queen-mother, 
laying  aside  her  widow's  chapelle  and  veil,  entered 
whole-heartedly  into  the  festivities.  The  most  cheer- 
ing feature  of  the  gaiety  was  due  to  the  magnanimity 
of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  quite  unexpectedly 
and  unreservedly  offered  the  crown  of  peace  by  pro- 
posing that  Princess  Marie,  daughter  of  Charles  I., 
Duke  of  Bourbon,  his  niece,  should  be  affianced  to  the 
young  Duke  of  Calabria.  The  ceremony  of  betrothal 
was  duly  celebrated  in  Angers  Cathedral,  the  little 
bride  being  no  more  than  seven  years  old.  This  was 
a  great  joy  to  the  Queen-mother,  and  Rene  and 
Isabelle  were  very  happy,  too. 

Again  in  1440  the  splendours  of  the  Angevine 
Court  were  once  more  revived  by  the  Queen-mother, 
when  she  welcomed  right  royally  King  Charles  VII. 
and  Queen  Marie.  It  was  by  way  of  being  a  family 
gathering  also,  for  King  Rene  and  Queen  Isabelle 
were  of  the  party.  It  was  a  reunion  remarkable  in 
one  way,  as  the  introduction  at  Angers  of  the  most 
lovely  girl  in  France,  in  the  suite  of  Queen  Isabelle, — 
a  girl  destined  to  play  a  very  important  part  in  the 
private  life  of  King  Charles  VII., — Agnes  Sorel. 
The  Queen-mother  was  charmed  with  her  lovely 
young  visitor,  and  never  made  any  opposition  to  her 
appointment  as  Maid  of  Honour  to  Queen  Marie. 
These  festivities,  however,  were  the  last  in  which 
Queen  Yolande  took  part.  The  sorrows  she  was 
called  upon  to  bear  and  the  anxieties  of  the  life  she 
lived  had  their  natural  effect  even  upon  such  an 
ardent  and  vigorous  constitution  as  hers.  Gradually 
she  retired  altogether  from  public  life,  and  in  1441 
she  took  up  her  residence  at  Saumur.  The  castle  was 
one  of  the  strongest  fortresses  in  France,  and  was  one 


92      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

of  the  very  few  which  held  out  successfully  all  through 
the  Hundred  Years'  War.  Originally  called  La 
Tour  du  Tronc,  Count  Foulques  Nerra,  Count  of 
Anjou,  in  the  tenth  century  gave  it  the  appearance 
and  stability  which  it  subsequently  retained.  Queen 
Yolande  placed  her  suite  within  the  castJe  precincts, 
but  she  herself,  putting  on  an  oblate's  habit,  occupied 
for  some  time  a  house  in  the  Faubourg  des  Fonts, 
where  her  privacy  could  be  less  easily  disturbed. 
What  remains, — and  that,  alas  !  is  very  little,  of  this 
habitation, — is  still  called  La  Maison  de  la  Reine 
Cicile  (Sicily).  In  this  humble  abode  Yolanda 
d'Arragona,  "  the  great  Queen,"  died  quietly  on 
December  14,  1443. 

Whether  King  Rene  was  present  to  close  his 
beloved  mother's  eyes  we  know  not,  but  it  is  signifi- 
cant of  absence  that  the  expense, — 500  livres, — 
of  the  Queen's  obsequies  was  borne  by  her  youngest 
son,  Charles,  Duke  of  Maine  ;  indeed,  it  is  almost  cer- 
tain that  Rene  was  at  Marseilles  when  he  heard  of  his 
mother's  death.  In  one  of  his  "  Livres  des  Heures  " 
he  inscribed:  "  Le  14  Decembre  de  Tan  1443  tres- 
passa  au  Chdteau  de  Saumur  Madame  Yolande, 
fille  de  Roy  d'Aragon  et  depuis  mere  de  Roy  Rene" 
The  funeral  ceremonies  were  celebrated  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Tours,  her  private  chaplain,  not  at  Saumur, 
but  at  Angers,  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Maurice,  to 
which  her  remains  were  conveyed  by  night  two  days 
after  her  death.  Her  grave  was  that  of  her  consort's, 
twenty-five  years  before, — in  front  of  the  high-altar, 
— but  all  trace  of  it  has  disappeared,  and  explorations 
have  failed  to  reveal  her  burial  casket. 

It  is  eloquent  of  the  irony  of  human  affairs,  that 
whereas  no  memorial,  or  even  inscription,  is  left  to 


YOLANDA  D'ARRAGONA  93 

record  the  virtues  of  the  royal  mother  of  Anjou,  in 
the  Church  of  Notre  Dame  de  Nantilly  at  Saumur 
there  is  a  memorial  to  Mere  Theophaine  la  Magine, 
the  devoted  nurse  of  King  Rene  and  Queen  Marie, 
who  died  March  13,  1458.  The  original  monument, 
erected  by  the  King,  presented  his  faithful  domestic 
holding  him  and  Marie  in  her  arms.  This  has  been 
destroyed,  but  an  epitaph  still  remains  : 

"  Cy  gist  la  nourrice  Theophaine 
La  Magine,  qui  ot  grant  paine 
A  nourrie  de  let  en  enfance 
Marie  d' Anjou,  Eoyne  de  France, 
Et  apres,  sonfrere  Een6,  Due  d' Anjou."* 

The  only  existent  memorials  to  King  Louis  II.  and 
Queen  Yolande  are  to  be  seen  in  a  stained-glass 
window  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Julien  at  Le  Mans, 
the  capital  of  Maine,  one  of  the  richest  and  most 
beautiful  specimens  of  fifteenth  -  century  glass  in 
Europe.  The  royal  couple  are  upon  their  knees, 
attired  in  conventional  costumes,  and  bare-headed. 
Their  youngest  son,  Charles  of  Anjou  and  Maine,  is 
buried  near  that  splendid  window,  an  interesting  and 
curious  circumstance  in  the  happenings  of  Providence. 
He  died  in  1474.  All  Anjou  and  Provence  bewailed 
their  Queen,  her  virtues,  her  benevolence,  her  piety, 
her  loyalty. 

Yolande's  claim  to  the  title  with  which  she  has 
been  honoured,  "  a  good  mother  and  a  great  Queen," 
needs  no  vindication.  She  was,  in  short,  the  most 
noble  woman  in  all  France  during  the  first  half  of  the 
fifteenth  century. 

*  "  Here  lies  good  nurse  Theophaine 
La  Magine,  who  at  great  pain 
Foster-mother'd  in  infancy 
Marie  d'Anjou,  Queen  of  France, 
And  then  Rene1,  Duke  of  Anjou." 


CHAPTER  IV 

ISABELLE    DE    LORRAINE "  THE    PRIDE    OF    LORRAINE  " 

I. 

CHILD-MARRIAGE  was  a  distinguishing  mark  of  the 
Renaissance,  but  its  fashion  in  the  Sovereign  States 
of  France  was  very  much  more  commendable  than  its 
prototype  in  Italy.  In  the  Italian  republics  it 
became  a  holocaust  of  immature  maidens,  condemned 
to  untimely  death  through  the  perverted  passions  of 
worn-out  men  of  middle  age.  In  France  the  girl 
brides  were  mated  with  boy  husbands,  but  cohabita- 
tion was  regulated  by  the  watch  and  will  of  guardians. 
In  both  countries,  doubtless,  the  marriage  contract 
was  essentially  a  commercial  undertaking,  but  in 
France  it  marked  the  attainment  of  political  and 
dynastic  aims.  Sovereign  families  rarely  allied  their 
offspring  out  of  the  ruling  class.  At  the  same 
time  the  danger  of  conjugal  union  between  indi- 
viduals nearly  related  was  immeasurably  increased. 
Indeed,  such  relationships  were  those  most  zealously 
cultivated  by  ambitious  and  exclusive  rulers.  The 
marriage  of  Rene  d'Anjou  and  Isabelle  de  Lorraine 
was  a  striking  and  typical  instance  of  this  precocious 
marital  custom. 

Isabelle,    "  the   Pride  of   Lorraine," — as  she  was 

94 


ISABELLE    DE   LORRAINE 
From  a  Miniature  by  King  Rene,  in  "  Le  Livre  des  Heures  " 


To  face  page  ! 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  95 

acclaimed  by  her  devoted  subjects  at  the  time  of  her 
betrothal,  —  was  born  at  the  Castle  of  Nancy, 
March  20,  1410.  Her  parents  were  Charles  II., 
Duke  of  Lorraine,  and  his  consort,  Margaret  of 
Bavaria.  Charles  himself  was  the  eldest  son  of  Jehan, 
Duke  and  Count  of  Lorraine,  and  Sophie,  Princess  of 
Wiirtemberg.  Born  in  1364,  at  Toul, — a  free  city 
of  the  German  Empire  and  an  ecclesiastical  sover- 
eign see, — Charles  succeeded  his  father  in  1392. 
Originally  a  fief  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
Lorraine  was  erected  a  kingdom  by  the  Emperor 
Lothair,  who  styled  himself  "  King  and  Baron  of 
Lothairland."  The  first  Prince  to  bear  the  ducal 
title  was  Adelebert,  in  979,  and  that  style  descended 
unbroken  through  500  years. 

The  Duchess  Margaret  was  the  second  daughter  of 
the  Emperor  Robert  III.,  Duke  and  Baron  of  Bavaria. 
She  married  Charles  II.  in  1393.  To  them  were 
born  eight  children,  but,  alas  !  Louis  and  Rodolphe 
died  in  infancy,  Charles  and  Ferry  before  their 
majority,  and  Robert  in  1419,  unmarried,  at  twenty- 
two.  Of  their  three  daughters,  Isabelle  was  the 
eldest.  Marie  became  the  wife  of  Engu errand  de 
Coucy,  Baron  of  Champagne  and  Lord  of  Soissons, 
a  lineal  descendant  of  the  founder,  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  of  the  famous  Chateau  de  Coucy,  the  most 
complete  feudal  fortress  ever  built,  whose  proud 
motto  may  still  be  seen  on  the  donjon  wall  : 

"  Roi  je  ne  suis 
Prince  ni  Comte  aussi : 
Je  suis  le  Sire  de  Coucy." 

This    union    was    childless        Catherine,    the    third 
daughter,    in     1426     married    James,    Marquis     of 


96      REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Baden,  Count  Palatine  of  the  Rhine  and  Elector. 
She  renounced  all  claims  to  Lorraine.  Their  only 
child  was  a  daughter. 

At  the  time  of  their  marriage,  Charles  II.  of 
Lorraine  and  Margaret  of  Bavaria  were  a  model 
couple  upon  the  principles  of  dissimilarity  and  contrast. 
The  Duke,  a  soldier  born,  had  made  good  his  degree 
of  knighthood  ten  years  before,  when,  a  mere  strip- 
ling, he  won  his  spurs  fighting  daringly  by  the  side  of 
his  cousin,  Philippe  "  le  Hardi,"  Duke  of  Burgundy. 
With  him  he  went  on  a  punitive  expedition  against 
the  pirates  of  the  Barbary  coast.  At  Rosebach, 
and  especially  at  the  tremendous  battle  of  Azincourt, 
he  did  prodigies  of  valour.  In  Flanders  and  in 
Germany  his  ensign  led  on  victorious  troops. 
Charles's  last  military  achievement  was  the  rout 
of  the  Emperor  Wenceslas  under  the  very  walls  of 
Nancy.  No  warrior  loved  fighting  more  than  the 
Duke  of  Lorraine.  Slightly  to  alter  the  text,  he 
was  one  of  those  war-lords  whom  Shakespeare,  in 
his  "  seven  ages  of  man,"  says  "  sought  reputation 
at  the  cannon's  mouth."  He  yearned  for  the 
applause  of  gallant  knights,  both  friends  and  foes  ; 
he  yielded  himself  amorously  to  the  smiles  and 
embraces  of  the  fair  sex,  and  he  revelled  in  the 
praise  and  adulation  of  poets  and  minstrels.  His 
mailed  fist  was  ever  toying  with  his  trusty  sword 
and  grappling  the  chafing-reins  of  his  charger ;  his 
mailed  foot  was  ever  ready  for  the  stirrup  and  to 
trample  upon  the  head  of  a  fallen  foe. 

At  the  same  time  he  was  a  gay  and  polished 
courtier,  one  of  the  most  accomplished  Princes  in 
Europe.  Fond  of  literature  and  poetry,  he  studied 
daily  his  Latin  copy  of  the  "  Commentaries  of 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  97 

Julius  Csesar  "  and  similar  treatises.  He  had  besides 
a  taste  for  music,  and  was  no  mean  exponent  of  the 
lute  and  guitar,  and  a  friend  of  troubadours. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  gentle,  lovable  Duchess 
was  born  for  the  cloister  and  for  the  worship  of  the 
Mass.  Her  bare  feet  were  ever  moving  in  penitential 
pilgrimages  and  religious  processions,  and  her  shapely 
hands  were  ever  joined  in  prayer  or  divided  in 
charity.  Her  passion  was  the  submissive  rule  of 
Christ,  her  will  the  conquest  of  herself. 

Daring  and  devotion  thus  harnessed  together 
rocked  the  family  cradle,  and  insured  for  their  off- 
spring the  best  of  two  worlds.  Such  a  union  was 
bound  to  be  productive  of  genius  and  corrective  of 
faults  of  heredity.  What  a  bitter  disappointment, 
then,  it  must  have  been  for  both  the  Duke  and  the 
Duchess  when  one  after  another  their  beauteous 
babes  and  adolescent  sons  dropped  like  blighted 
rosebuds  from  their  young  love's  rosebush  prema- 
turely into  the  cold,  dark  grave,  leaving  only  the 
aroma  of  their  sweet  young  lives  to  soothe  their 
sorrowing  parents  ! 

Isabelle  was  the  fairest  daughter  of  the  three. 
She  inherited  the  force  of  character  of  her  father 
and  the  pious  disposition  of  her  mother,  and  to  these 
precious  traits  she  joined  a  spirit  of  intelligence  much 
in  advance  of  her  years  as  a  growing  girl.  In  short, 
she  was  remarkable  "pour  ses  qualites  de  I* esprit  et 
du  coeur"  a  description  difficult  to  render  into  good 
English  ;  perhaps  we  may  say  she  had  her  father's 
will  and  her  mother's  love. 

Many  were  the  suitors  for  her  hand,  some  for  the 
pure  love  of  beauty,  grace,  and  spirit,  but  most  with 
a  view  to  the  Duke-consortship  in  the  future  of  rich 


98      RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Lorraine.  The  "  Pride  of  Lorraine,"  indeed,  served 
as  an  ever-reinforced  magnet.  She  became  remark- 
able for  her  loveliness  of  person,  her  animation  of 
manner,  and  her  distinguished  carriage.  The  natural 
sweetness  of  her  voice  lent  a  gracious  persuasiveness 
to  her  eloquence,  which  in  later  life  proved  invaluable 
in  the  recruiting  of  adherents  to  her  husband's  cause. 
High-souled  and  condescending,  she  brought  her 
enemies  to  her  feet,  only  to  raise  them  her  warmest 
friends.  Talented  beyond  the  average  of  Princesses, 
she  had  also  the  charm  of  winsome  gaiety,  and  proved 
herself  a  worthy  spouse  and  companion  for  her  gallant 
and  clever  consort  Rene.  Tall,  slim,  fair-haired, 
blue-eyed,  with  a  skin  of  satin  softness,  the  "  Pride 
of  Lorraine  "  won  all  hearts  and  turned  many  a  head. 
To  Louis,  Cardinal  de  Bar,  was  due  the  accom- 
plishment of  an  idea  suggested  by  Queen  Yolande 
with  respect  to  the  future  of  her  second  son,  Rene 
d'Anjou.  He  had  for  ever  so  long  been  considering 
what  steps  he  should  take  with  respect  to  the  succes- 
sion to  the  duchy.  He  of  course,  as  an  ecclesiastic, 
could  have  no  legitimate  offspring.  His  brothers  had 
died  childless,  and  only  one  of  his  sisters  had  male 
descendants,  the  grandsons  of  Violante  de  Bar,  his 
own  grand-nephews.  In  His  Eminence's  mind,  too, 
was  a  project  to  reconstitute  the  ancient  kingdom  of 
Lothair  by  merging  Barrois  and  Lorraine  proper. 
Whilst  Duke  Charles  II. 's  young  sons  were  living, 
the  Cardinal  looked  to  one  of  them  as  his  heir  ;  and 
when  they  all  drooped  and  died,  he  reflected  whether 
or  not  he  should  name  Charles  as  his  successor.  At 
this  juncture  his  niece,  the  Queen  of  Sicily- Anjou, 
was  busy  looking  out  for  brides  for  her  two  elder 
sons,  Louis  and  Rene.  For  the  former  a  Bretagne 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  99 

alliance  was  indicated ;  for  the  latter  a  union  with 
Lorraine — Burgundy  for  the  time  being  out  of  the 
question — or  Champagne  seemed  desirable. 

The  Cardinal  clinched  the  matter,  and  paid  a  visit 
to  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  in  furtherance  of  his  project, 
which  was  the  very  natural  and  sensible  one  of 
marrying  his  nephew  Rene"  with  the  Duke's  eldest 
daughter  Isabelle.  Whether  Charles  had  any  ink- 
lings of  the  Cardinal's  cogitations  with  relation  to  his 
own  position  with  respect  to  Bar  we  know  not ;  but 
possibly  he  had,  for  he  met  the  proposition  with  a 
direct  refusal.  He  read  to  his  relative  two  clauses  of 
a  will  he  had  recently  executed,  which  forbade  his 
daughter  Isabelle  to  marry  a  Prince  of  French  origin, 
and  especially  barred  the  House  of  Anjou.  This 
latter  prohibition  was  inserted  with  reference  to  the 
rupture  between  Jean  "  sans  Peur,"  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  and  Louis  II.,  King  of  Sicily  and  Duke 
of  Anjou,  which  resulted  from  the  part  the  former 
had  played  in  the  assassination  of  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  in  1407,  and  the  consequent  repudiation  of 
the  betrothal  of  Catherine  de  Bourgogne  and  Louis 
d' Anjou.  Lorraine  and  Burgundy  were  in  close 
alliance. 

The  Cardinal,  however,  was  not  to  be  diverted 
from  the  course  he  had  taken.  He  placed  ten  con- 
siderations before  the  Duke  and  his  advisers : — (1)  The 
advisability  of  reuniting  the  two  portions  of  Lorraine  ; 
(2)  Charles's  lack  of  male  heirs;  (3)  his  own  incom- 
petence in  the  same  direction  ;  (4)  his  choice  of  his 
grand-nephew,  Rene*  d'Anjou,  as  his  successor  at  Bar- 
le-Duc  ;  (5)  the  attractive  personality,  mental  attain- 
ments, and  high  courage  of  the  young  Prince  ;  (6)  his 
descent  from  a  Barrois-Lorrame  Princess,  Violante, 


ioo    RENE  D'ANJou  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

his  sister  ;  (7)  the  risks  of  the  application  of  the 
power  of  the  Salic  Law  over  his  daughters  ;  (8)  the 
equality  of  age  of  Rene  and  Isabelle  ;  (9)  the  wish  of 
the  late  King  and  of  the  Queen  of  Sicily- Anjou  for 
an  alliance  with  Lorraine  and  a  better  understanding 
politically;  (10)  the  welfare  of  the  peoples  of  the 
two  duchies  and  the  love  of  the  Lorrainers  for  their 
princely  house. 

Charles  asked  time  to  consider  these  points,  but 
meanwhile  he  summoned  the  Estates,  and  laid  before 
them  a  proposition  concerning  the  succession  to  Lor- 
raine at  his  death.  He  named  his  eldest  daughter  as 
Hereditary  Duchess,  and  proposed  that  her  consort 
should  bear  the  title,  and  with  her  exercise  the  pre- 
rogatives, of  Duke  of  Lorraine.  A  concordat  was 
agreed  to  whereby  the  Estates  were  pledged  to  sup- 
port the  Duchess  Isabelle,  and  to  carry  out  Charles's 
wishes. 

Queen  Yolande  had  seconded  her  uncle's  negotia- 
tions in  a  very  womanly  and  sensible  way.  She 
communicated  directly  with  good  Duchess  Margaret. 
She  pointed  out  to  her  the  mutual  advantages  of  the 
marriage  of  the  two  children,  and  declared  that  such 
a  union  would  heal  the  breach  between  the  eastern 
and  the  western  Sovereigns  of  France.  Margaret, 
loving  peace  and  holy  things,  was  easily  persuaded  to 
reason  with  her  husband  ;  she  submitted  absolutely 
to  the  overpowering  personality  of  the  Queen.  With 
Charles,  Yolande  had  a  stiflfer  fight,  but  she  gathered 
up  her  strength,  and  in  the  end,  lusty  warrior  that  he 
was,  he  yielded  up  his  defence  to  the  tactful  diplomacy 
of  the  good  mother  of  Anjou.  Woman's  wit  once 
more,  as  it  generally  does,  triumphed  over  man's 
obstinacy. 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  101 

Charles  agreed  to  receive  the  young  Prince,  and 
judge  for  himself  of  his  prepositions  and  qualifications. 
The  result  was  beyond  the  Cardinal's  expectation,  for 
the  Duke  declared  himself  charmed  with  the  boy. 
He  was,  he  said,  ready  to  rescind  the  prohibitory 
clauses  of  his  will,  but  he  made  it  a  condition  that  he 
should  have  the  personal  and  unrestricted  guardian- 
ship of  the  boy  until  he  reached  the  age  of  fifteen. 
He  desired  Rene  to  proceed  at  once  to  Angers  to 
obtain  Queen  Yolande's  consent  to  the  matrimonial 
contract  between  himself  and  Princess  Isabelle. 
Everything  went  merrily,  like  the  marriage-bells 
which  soon  enough  pealed  forth  all  over  Lorraine, 
Barrois,  and  Anjou,  at  the  auspicious  nuptials.  The 
final  arrangements  were  completed,  and  Rene  and 
Isabelle  were  betrothed  at  the  Castle  of  St.  Mihiel, 
and  on  October  20,  1420,  married  at  the  Cathedral 
of  Nancy  by  the  Bishop  of  Toul,  Henri  de  Ville, 
Duke  Charles's  cousin.  Immediately  before  the 
wedding,  Cardinal-Duke  Louis  caused  a  herald  to 
proclaim  publicly,  in  the  market-place  of  Nancy,  Rene 
d' Anjou,  Comte  de  Guise,  Hereditary  Duke  of  Bar, 
with  the  ad  interim  title  of  Marquis  of  Pont-a- 
Mousson. 

The  record  of  the  marriage  is  thus  entered  in 
"  Les  Chroniques  de  Lorraine  ":  "  Les  nopees  furent 
faictes  en  grant  triomphe,  et  la  dicte  fille  menee  & 
Bar  'moult  honorablement.  Le  Cardinal  fust  moult 
joyeulx."  *  The  contract  had  been  signed  on  March 
20, 1420,  by  the  Duke  and  the  Cardinal  at  the  Chateau 
de  Tourg,  near  Toul,  Queen  Yolande's  signature 

*  "  The  nuptials  were  celebrated  with  great  ceremony,  and  the 
said  Princess  was  conducted  to  Bar  very  honourably.  The  Cardinal 
was  full  of  joy." 


102    RENE  D1  ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

being  provided  by  her  proxy.  She  granted  to  her 
son  the  right  to  quarter  the  arms  of  Bar  and  Lorraine 
with  those  of  Anjou  and  Guise. 

On  November  10  formal  proclamation  was  made 
in  [every  important  town  in  Lorraine,  to  the  effect 
that  Duke  Charles  II.  constituted  his  eldest  daughter, 
now  Duchess  of  Barrois  and  Countess  of  Guise, 
heiress  to  the  duchy  of  Lorraine,  and  confirmed  to 
her,  and  to  her  issue  by  Rene"  d'Anjou  and  Bar,  full 
rights  of  succession  and  government.  The  procla- 
mation named  Queen  Yolande  of  Sicily  -  Anjou, 
Louis,  Cardinal  de  Bar,  and  the  Duke  himself, 
Charles's  guardians  during  the  minority  of  the  young 
couple. 

"  Rene,"  wrote  a  chronicler,  "  is  well-grown,  well- 
bred,  and  well-looking.  He  is  greatly  admired  by 
all  the  fair  sex,  and  loves  them  in  return.  He  will 
make  a  good  husband,  and  has  the  making  of  a  great 
Sovereign."  The  bride's  praises  were  sung  by  poets 
and  minstrels  the  length  and  breadth  of  Lorraine 
and  Bar. 

Among  the  earliest  to  congratulate  the  young 
people  and  their  parents  was  the  redoubtable  Duke 
of  Burgundy  !  He  sent  a  special  embassy  to  Nancy 
with  this  striking  message  :  "  Tons  estoient  si  joyeulx 
de  veoir  lafervente  et  cordiale  amour  qui  estoit  entre 
ces  deulx  jeuns  gens,  que  je  me  trouve  capable  des 
sentiments  les  plus  amiables  pour  tous  mes  cousins 
royales.  Je  salue  mes  bonsfreres  les  Souverains  Dues 
de  Lorraine  et  Barrois  avec  Madame  la  Duchesse 
Marguerite,  et  sans  autre  choses  la  bonne  Rogue  de 
Cecile,  son  epous  le  Roy  Louis,  pour  jamais"  * 

*  "Everybody  was  delighted  to  behold  the  fervent  and  cordial 
love  which  exists  between  the  two  young  people,  whilst  I  found 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  103 

This  was  as  a  jewel  in  the  hair  of  Queen  Yolande, 
and  as  nectar  in  the  cup  of  Cardinal  Louis.  Their 
plans  had  succeeded  splendidly. 

Shortly  after  his  marriage,  Rene  returned  to  Bar- 
le-Duc  with  his  child-bride,  and  they  were  received 
in  royal  state  by  the  Cardinal,  who  had  renovated 
and  decorated  the  castle  specially  in  their  honour  and 
for  their  use.  The  town  of  Ligny  was  causing  trouble 
in  Barrois  by  refusing  to  pay  the  accustomed  tribute. 
The  Prince  de  Ligny  claimed  that  portion  of  the 
duchy  of  Bar  as  his,  by  the  marriage  contract  of  his 
wife,  the  Cardinal's  sister.  He  attacked  the  Castle 
of  Pierrepoint  and  the  town  of  Briey,  whose  garrison 
he  caused  to  be  put  to  the  sword.  The  Cardinal 
took  arms,  and,  accompanied  by  Rene  and  companies 
of  Lorraine  soldiers  from  Longwy,  defeated  his 
relative  and  took  him  prisoner.  The  young  Prince 
received  the  rebel's  sword  and  personally  conducted 
him  to  Nancy,  where,  after  two  years'  confinement 
in  the  fortress,  he  signed  an  act  of  renunciation  of  his 
pretensions  in  Barrois. 

Rene,  only  twelve  years  old,  the  following  year 
accompanied  Charles  II.  of  Lorraine  to  the  siege 
of  Toul, — for  many  years  a  turbulent  element  in  his 
dominions, — where  there  was  a  hot  dispute  concern- 
ing certain  laws  and  customs  oppositive  to  the  claims 
of  the  crown  of  Lorraine.  Toul  was  captured,  and 
mulcted  in  an  annual  tribute  of  a  thousand  livres. 

Directly  the  proclamation  of  Isabelle  of  Lorraine 
with  Rene*  as  the  sharer  of  her  throne  was  made, 

myself  filled  with  the  most  amiable  sentiments  for  all  my  royal 
cousins.  I  salute  my  good  brothers  the  Sovereign  Dukes  of 
Lorraine  and  Barrois,  and  also  the  Duchess  Margaret,  and  equally 
the  good  Queen  of  Sicily  and  her  consort  King  Louis." 


104     RENE  D^ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Antoine  de  Vaude"mont,  Duke  Charles's  eldest 
nephew,  entered  a  protest  and  claimed  the  succession. 
He  based  his  action  upon  the  three  conditions — 

( 1 )  The  Salic  Law  ruled  the  succession  of  Lorraine  ; 

(2)  the  male   line    had  not   been   broken   since    the 
creation  of  the  duchy  ;  and  (3)  the  realm  had  never 
gone  out  of  the  family.      Charles  scouted  all  these 
positions,  affirmed  his  own  sovereign  right  to  name 
his  successor,  and  refused  to  alter  the  terms  of  the 
proclamation  so  far  as  regarded  the  succession  of  his 
daughter  and  Duke  Rene. 

All  the  church-bells  in  Barrois  and  Lorraine  were 
again  set  jingling  joyously  when,  in  the  ducal  castle 
of  Toul,  on  the  morning  of  January  17,  1437,  a 
young  mother, — very  young  indeed,  barely  seventeen, 
— brought  forth  her  firstborn — a  beauteous  boy,  the 
image,  as  the  midwives  said,  of  the  boy-father,  not 
yet  nineteen.  Church-bells,  too,  rang  merrily  all 
over  Anjou  and  Provence  when  the  glad  tidings 
reached  their  borders  that  a  male  heir  was  born 
to  the  honours  of  Sicily- Anjou-Provence.  Perhaps 
Rene'  and  Isabelle  were  too  young  to  realize  what 
it  all  meant  for  France  at  large,  but  Queen  Yolande 
understood  well  enough  its  tenor,  and  with  her 
congratulations  she  greeted  her  first  son's  grandchild 
with  the  title  of  "  Prince  of  Gerona,"  linking  him 
ostentatiously  with  her  hereditary  rights  in  Aragon. 
Duke  Charles,  too,  and  Duchess  Margaret  were  the 
happiest  of  grandparents,  and  baby  Jean  was  created 
Comte  de  Nancy  as  future  Duke. 

Charles's  death  was  somewhat  sudden  and  quite 
unexpected.  Strong  man  that  he  was,  King  Death 
seemed  to  be  a  power  not  immediately  to  be  feared. 
Rene  was  not  at  Nancy  when  the  death-knell 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  105 

sounded,  but  news  swiftly  reached  him,  and  he  re- 
turned at  once  to  the  capital.  Duchess  Margaret, — 
despite  her  lamentations  and  her  natural  dislike  to 
public  appearance, — attired  herself  in  full  Court  dress, 
the  crown  she  rarely  wore  upon  her  head,  and  all  the 
officials  of  the  Court,  the  Government,  and  city,  in 
her  retinue,  and  hastened  to  the  gate  to  welcome  the 
new  Duke  of  Lorraine.  Before  her  carriage  rode 
a  number  of  lords  and  knights,  who  dismounted  on 
the  approach  of  Rene,  and,  saluting  him  deferentially, 
greeted  him  as  "  Vous  estoit  le  nostre  due  /"  The 
cry  was  taken  up  by  all  the  gallant  company,  whilst 
Rene,  having  dismounted  at  the  portal  of  St.  George, 
took  the  sacred  missal  offered  by  the  Dean  into  his 
hands,  and  swore  then  and  there  to  respect  and  safe- 
guard the  ancient  liberties  of  the  State  and  city. 

One  of  the  quaintest  of  quaint  observances  fol- 
lowed, a  custom  peculiar  to  Lorraine.  After  re- 
ceiving the  ecclesiastical  blessing,  the  new  Duke 
remounted  his  horse,  and  into  his  hand  was  placed  the 
ancient  altar  cross  called  "  Polluyon."  He  rode 
slowly  through  the  city  to  St.  Nicholas  Gate,  where 
he  again  dismounted,  and  gave  his  charger  into  the 
care  of  one  of  the  canons,  who  took  his  place  in  the 
saddle  and  rode  out  of  sight.  This  strange  custom 
had  been  observed  at  all  the  public  recognitions  of 
new  Dukes  of  Lorraine  ever  since  its  inception  by 
Duke  Raoul,  in  1339.  The  Duke  then  returned  on 
foot  to  St.  George's,  bearing  still  the  jewelled  cross. 
At  the  entrance  the  Bishop  stood  ready  to  administer 
the  customary  oaths  and  to  accord  the  Papal  bene- 
diction. This  ceremony  also  was  unique.  The 
Bishop  told  him  to  face  the  assembly  of  his  subjects 
at  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  and  to  repeat  at 


306    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

each  the  formula  :  "  I  take  this  oath  before  God  and 
you  willingly,  and  look  to  God  for  assistance,  and 
to  you  for  service." 

Then  conducted  to  the  castle  in  great  circum- 
stance, amid  the  vociferous  plaudits  of  the  populace, 
— "  Noel !  Noel  /"  they  cried, — the  Duke  knelt  and 
kissed  the  hand  of  Duchess  Isabelle,  who  was  waiting 
there,  and  presented  her  to  the  delirious  citizens. 
"  Vive  le  nostre  Due  !  Vive  la  nostre  Duchesse  /"  rang 
through  the  city,  and,  caught  up  by  the  sculptured 
pinnacles  and  turrets  of  the  cathedral,  mingled 
harmoniously  with  the  musical  cadences  of  the  bells, 
and  so  was  wafted  over  all  that  fair  and  smiling  land. 

Rene",  although  but  two-and-twenty,  gave  imme- 
diate evidence  of  wisdom  beyond  his  years.  His 
power  to  grasp  and  handle  complex  affairs  of  State, 
and  his  discrimination  in  matters  of  moment,  proved 
the  excellence  of  his  grand-uncle's  training.  His 
personal  appearance  was  all  in  his  favour,  and  his 
graceful,  well-set-up  figure,  his  open  countenance,  his 
majestic  manner, — ever  ready  to  bend  to  circum- 
stances,— gained  general  admiration  and  confidence. 
His  gracious,  patient,  and  conciliatory  bearing  was 
remarkable.  His  modesty  and  absolute  lack  of 
presumption  attracted  the  best  men  of  all  parties. 
His  readiness  to  appoint  a  Council  of  State,  with 
unusual  freedom  of  deliberation  and  action,  was  only, 
perhaps,  what  might  have  been  looked  for  from  the 
son  of  the  founder  of  the  free  Parliament  of  Provence 
in  1415.  The  new  Duke  set  on  foot  movements  for 
the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  poor,  for  the 
improvement  of  education,  and  for  the  rectification 
of  the  morals  of  the  Court  and  city.  One  of  his 
earliest  edicts  was  for  the  suppression  of  blasphemy ; 


RENE    D  ANJOU 
(Circa  1440) 

Painted  by  himself      "  Le  Livre  des  Heures ' 


To  face  page  106 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  107 

a  first  charge  was  punishable  by  the  judge  in  the 
ordinary  way,  a  second  involved  a  heavy  fine,  a 
third  obtained  correction  in  the  public  pillory,  and 
a  fourth  offence  was  purged  only  by  the  splitting 
of  the  tongue  and  rigorous  imprisonment. 

In  all  these,  and  many  similar  acts  of  sapient 
policy,  Duchess  Isabelle  bore  her  part  in  counsel  and 
example  ;  her  conduct  was  beyond  all  praise.  The 
next  move  was  a  progress  through  every  part  of  the 
two  duchies.  At  each  considerable  town  the  royal 
cortege  halted  first  of  all  that  the  Duke  and  Duchess 
might  make  their  devotions  in  the  principal  church, 
and  endow  Masses  and  ecclesiastical  grants.  Then, 
assembling  the  officials  and  chief  citizens,  they 
inquired  into  the  hardships  of  the  people  and 
encouraged  local  institutions,  at  each  place  leaving 
largesse  for  distribution.  In  strong  places  with 
garrisons,  the  Duke  interested  himself  in  re- 
dressing injuries  and  inequalities  among  the  veterans. 
He  offered  to  pay  all  the  losses  of  officers  in  the 
wars ;  he  allowed  eighteen  sols  for  each  horse  killed 
in  battle  or  on  march  ;  he  bestowed  on  each  soldier 
a  surcoat  and  steel  helmet  with  his  royal  cognizance, 
and  created  many  knights.  Meanwhile  Duchess 
Isabelle  endeared  herself  to  the  womenfolk  by  con- 
soling words  of  sympathy  and  gracious  doles  of 
charity.  Widows  and  orphans  she  took  under  her 
personal  patronage,  and  no  worthy  claimant  for  her 
benevolence  lacked  favour  and  assistance. 

Thus  Rene  and  Isabelle  won,  not  only  golden 
opinions,  but  the  sincerest  affection  of  their  subjects, 
rich  and  poor.  But  a  climax  was  put  to  the 
noble  works  of  the  kindly  Sovereigns,  and  never  came 
truer  the  saying ;  "  Providence  ever  destroys  the 


108    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

good  that  men  do."  An  evil  genius  appeared  upon 
the  peaceful  scene  when  Antoine  de  Vaudemont 
refused  to  pay  allegiance  to  the  new  Duke  and 
Duchess.  The  moment  of  his  declaration  of  hostility 
was  as  unfortunate  as  it  was  cruel.  At  the  public 
baptism  of  Prince  Jean,  the  Duke's  eldest  son,  who 
had  been  privately  baptized  at  his  birth,  in  1426-27, 
the  Count  entered  the  Cathedral  of  Nancy  in  full 
armour,  and  objected  to  the  Duke  of  Calabria, — the 
title  of  the  young  boy, — being  received  by  the 
Church  as  heir  to  the  throne  of  Lorraine. 

The  Duke  immediately  summoned  him  to  appear 
before  the  Council  of  State,  and  also  before  a 
meeting  of  principal  citizens,  and  there  repeat  his 
protest.  By  both  assembles  his  pretensions  were 
scouted  unanimously.  Sieur  Jehan  d'Haussonville, 
the  Mayor,  addressed  the  Count,  and  said  :  "  Your 
uncle  has  left  daughters ;  the  eldest,  Isabelle,  is 
Duchess  of  Lorraine.  I  salute  you.  You  may  go." 
Vaudemont  left  Nancy  in  a  violent  rage,  crying  out 
as  he  passed  through  the  gateway  of  St.  George  : 
"  I  shall  be  Duke  of  Lorraine  all  the  same,  and 
soon,  and  then  will  I  reckon  with  you  dogs !"  He 
posted  off  to  Dijon,  and  there  took  counsel  with  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy. 

The  body  of  Charles  II.  had  scarcely  been  con- 
signed to  its  monumental  tomb  in  the  choir  of  St. 
Georges  de  Port  at  Nancy,  when  the  Comte  de 
Vaudemont  revealed  himself  in  his  true  colours. 
After  his  protest  against  the  edict  of  the  Duke 
which  named  Duke  Rene"  of  Barrois,  the  consort  of 
the  heiress  to  the  throne,  as  his  successor  to  the 
title  of  Duke  of  Lorraine,  he  had  remained  skulking 
in  his  castle,  where  he  welcomed  as  many  malcontents 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  109 

and  disturbers  of  the  peace  as  accepted  his  pre- 
tensions to  the  crown.  The  coronation  of  Duchess 
Isabelle  was  the  signal  for  Vaudemont's  attempt  to 
vindicate  his  claim.  He  had  hardly  a  sympathizer 
at  Court,  for  Charles  had  caused  all  the  principal 
nobles  and  citizens  to  swear  allegiance  to  his 
daughter  and  her  husband  before  he  died.  The 
Count  appeared  suddenly  before  Nancy,  and  demanded 
the  keys  and  the  custody  of  the  Duchess.  Duke 
Rene  was  away  besieging  Metz,  but  he  at  once 
posted  off  to  Nancy,  and  assisted  with  men-at-arms 
by  Charles  VII.,  and  aided  by  the  generalship  of 
Barbazan,  he  defeated  Vaudemont  in  eight  battles 
great  and  small. 

Vaudemont  rallied  his  forces  from  Burgundy  under 
Antoine  de  Toulongeon,  Duke  Philippe's  favourite 
general,  and  enlisted  foreign  mercenaries  from 
Flanders  and  Germany.  Rene  had  at  his  back  all 
the  armed  men  of  Lorraine  and  Bar,  and  contingents 
from  Anjou  and  Provence.  James,  Marquis  of 
Baden,  and  Louis  of  Bavaria,  joined  him  with 
squadrons  of  cavalry,  and  his  army  numbered 
nearly  20,000  men.  Perhaps  he  was  over-con- 
fident of  his  strength,  his  right,  and  his  in- 
trepidity ;  and  having  a  very  much  more  numerous 
following,  he  advanced  upon  his  enemy  disregarding 
sundry  cautions  and  wise  counsels.  The  two  armies 
met  upon  the  plain  of  Bulgneville,  near  Neufchateau, 
on  July  2.  Vaudemont  played  a  waiting  game  ; 
besides,  he  had  in  reserve  heavier  artillery  than  his 
royal  foeman.  Early  in  the  encounter  Barbazan 
fell  mortally  wounded,  and  then  Rene  himself  received 
a  wound  which  incapacitated  him  for  a  time.  The 
fall  of  their  leaders  demoralized  the  Lorraine  army, 


110    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

and  Vaudemont,  seeing  his  advantage,  made  a  dash 
with  a  column  of  heavy  cavalry.  Rene  was  smitten 
to  the  ground  and  surrounded.  He  refused  to 
surrender  until  an  officer  of  sufficient  rank  should 
be  allowed  to  receive  his  sword.  Then  Toulongeon 
galloped  up,  and  the  Duke,  covered  with  blood  and 
dust,  was  lead  away  to  the  Burgundian  camp. 

Taken  the  same  evening  to  the  Chateau  de  Talant, 
near  Dijon,  the  royal  prisoner  was  treated  with  the 
deference  due  to  his  rank,  but,  alas !  he  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  of  his  house — the 
hated  Duke  of  Burgundy.  That  evening  the  curfew 
sounded  not  in  Nancy,  but  the  gates  were  shut 
and  barred,  and  two  weeping  women,  powerless  in 
their  woe,  never  sought  their  couches  in  the  castle. 
Mother  and  daughter,  Margaret  and  Isabelle,  were 
nigh  death  themselves.  No  tidings  could  they  gain 
of  the  whereabouts  or  of  the  condition  of  the  man 
they  loved.  Duchess  Isabelle  cried  out :  "  Alas  !  I 
do  not  know  whether  my  husband  is  dead  or  alive 
or  wounded,  nor  where  they  have  taken  him."  None 
had  a  consoling  answer,  for  all  Nancy  was  in  mourn- 
ing. Two  thousand  good  men  and  true  lay  dead 
upon  the  stricken  field,  and  three  thousand  more 
shared  the  imprisonment  of  their  Duke.  The  wounded 
in  hundreds  crawled  into  city,  village,  and  mansion  ; 
not  a  house  in  Lorraine  but  was  flooded  with  women's 
tears  and  men's  blood  that  desperate  day  and  night. 
At  last  splashed  and  bedraggled  heralds  brought 
news  of  the  Duke's  captivity,  and  that  his  wounds 
were  not  serious  :  "  M'sieur  le  Due,  madame,  estoit 
en  bon  sante ;  les  Bourguignons  I'avoient  pris:  il  se 
trouv  at  Dijon  demain." 

Thus  assured    of  her    husband's    safety,    Isabelle 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  111 

brushed  away  her  tears  and  roused  herself  to  action. 
Promptly  she  called  together  the  Council  of  State, 
where  she  presided  in  person,  and  eloquently  demanded 
that  strong  measures  should  at  once  be  taken  to  carry 
on  the  war  against  Vaudemont  and  Philippe  de 
Bourgogne,  raise  sufficient  funds  to  make  good  losses, 
and  secure  the  liberty  of  the  Duke.  The  Council 
responded  nobly  and  patriotically  to  the  call  of  their 
Duchess ;  as  the  "  Chroniques  de  Lorraine "  has  it : 
"  They  had  pity  upon  her,  for  she  had  borne  four 
sturdy  children  as  comely  as  you  might  wish  to  see." 
"  Elle  fust  allegree!"  was  the  universal  testimony  to 
Isabelle's  worth  as  a  wife  and  mother.  Duchess 
Margaret,  too,  perhaps  for  the  first  time  in  her  life 
of  devotion,  raised  her  voice,  and  called  for  the 
temporal  sword  to  be  reground  to  avenge  the  disaster. 
She  accompanied  her  daughter,  both  mounted,  to 
Ve"zelise,  which  Isabelle  had  appointed  as  the  rendez- 
vous of  the  new  army,  and  personally  enrolled  com- 
panies and  squadrons,  fastening  to  each  man's  helm 
a  thistle — the  cognizance  of  Lorraine.  Then  she 
addressed  a  protest  to  the  victor  of  Bulgneville,  in 
which  she  warned  him  not  to  approach  Nancy,  but 
to  regard  herself  as  his  implacable  foe  until  he 
should  deliver  up  the  Duke.  Etienne  Pasquier,  the 
chronicler,  sums  up  in  ten  words  the  courageous 
character  of  Duchess  Isabelle.  "  Within  the  body  of 
a  woman,"  he  says,  "  the  Duchess  carries  the  heart 
of  a  man."  After  warning  Vaude*mont,  she  concluded 
with  him  a  truce  of  three  months,  during  which 
period  she  went  in  person  to  Charles  VII.,  who  was 
then  in  Dauphine",  and  implored  his  intervention  and 
assistance.  In  her  train  was  a  young  Maid  of  Honour, 
Agnes  Sorel,  whose  beauty  and  nawete  rightly 


112    REN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

affected  that  unstable  monarch  ;  it  was  an  introduc- 
tion which  ripened  later  on  into  something  more 
intimate  than  mere  admiration. 

Duchess  Margaret  also  greatly  bestirred  herself. 
Hearing  that  her  uncle,  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  her 
brother-in-law,  the  Duke  of  Berry,  were  at  Lyons 
awaiting  the  coming  of  King  Charles,  she  posted  off 
there,  taking  with  her  as  advisers  the  Bishops  of  Toul 
and  Metz.  In  company  with  the  King  of  France 
was  no  less  a  person  than  Queen  Yolande,  his 
mother-in-law — 

"  Aussi  vient  en  icelle  mile, 
Accompaignde  de  demoiselles, 
La  noble  Royne  de  Cecile"  * 

as  we  read  in  the  "  Heures  de  Charles  VII" 

Rene  was  not  kept  long  at  Talant,  but  transferred 
to  the  fortress  of  Bracon,  near  Salines.  His  imprison- 
ment varied  in  severity  ;  at  times  he  was  treated 
roughly,  half  starved  and  unclothed,  with  no  resources 
or  intercourse  with  friends  outside.  Then  he  was 
served  with  dignity  befitting  his  rank,  and  granted 
facilities  for  the  better  occupation  of  his  time.  But 
what  a  staggering  blow  was  his  misfortune  to  all  his 
dreams  and  aims  of  honour,  glory,  and  sovereignty ! 

Lorraine  was  in  a  terrible  state,  and  so  was 
Barrois  ;  men  knew  not  what  to  do  nor  whom  to 
trust.  Overrun  with  soldiers  of  fortune  and  the  riff- 
raff of  foreign  camp-followers,  security  for  person  and 
for  property  was  no  more.  Vaude'mont  made,  how- 
ever, no  use  of  his  victory — at  least,  so  far  as  pressing 
his  claims  to  the  duchy.  Everywhere  his  cause  was 
unpopular  ;  indeed,  he  found  himself  in  the  very 

*  "  There  also  came  to  the  same  town,  accompanied  by  Maids  of 
Honour,  the  noble  Queen  of  Sicily." 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  113 

unusual  and  humiliating  position  of  a  victor  denied 
the  fruits  of  his  victory.  He  disbanded  his  army 
and  retired  from  Lorraine,  and  took  up  his  abode 
with  his  ally,  Philippe  of  Burgundy,  and  there  awaited 
developments.  Rene  found  means  to  communicate 
with  his  desolated  wife,  and  forwarded  instructions  to 
the  Estates  of  Lorraine  and  Barrois  to  acknowledge 
and  serve  Duchess  Isabelle  as  Lieutenant-General 
during  his  captivity.  She  entered  upon  her  respon- 
sible duties  with  the  utmost  fortitude  and  courage. 
All  historians  testify  to  her  indefatigable  zeal  and 
administrative  ability. 

Whilst  the  two  Duchesses  were  doing  all  they 
could  to  effect  the  Duke's  release  and  maintain  the 
rights  of  Lorraine  and  Barrois,  Rene"  himself  made 
a  direct  appeal  to  Philippe  of  Burgundy,  and  on 
March  1,  1432,  he  proposed  certain  terms  to  his 
royal  gaoler.  They  were  as  follows  :  ( 1 )  The  accept- 
ance by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  of  Duke  Renews  two 
young  sons,  Jean  and  Louis,  as  hostages  for  their 
father  ;  (2)  the  cession  of  the  castles  of  Clermont 
en  Argonne,  Chatille,  Bourmont,  and  Charmes  ;  and 
(3)  the  payment  of  the  Burgundian  troops  in  full  for 
all  arrears.  Philippe  accepted  these  hard  conditions, 
and  added  to  their  harshness  by  fixing  a  ransom 
of  20,000  saluts  d'or.  At  the  same  time  thirty 
nobles  of  Lorraine  and  Barrois  offered  themselves 
in  lieu  of  the  two  young  Princes. 

This  contract  Philippe  submitted  to  the  Comte  de 
Vaude"mont  for  his  approval,  which  he  gave  after 
much  consideration,  but  required  the  insertion  of  a 
clause  to  the  effect  that  his  son  Ferry  should  be 
betrothed  to  Yolande,  Duke  Renews  eldest  daughter, 
then  not  quite  three  years  old,  and  that  she  should 


114    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

receive  a  dowry  of  18,000  florins  de  Rhin  for 
the  purchase  of  an  estate  in  Lorraine,  and  he 
added  very  cunningly  a  proviso  that  residuary  rights 
to  the  duchy  should  be  settled  upon  the  issue  of  the 
marriage.  This  was  with  grim  vengeance  the  hoist- 
ing both  of  the  Duke  and  the  Count  upon  their  own 
petards.  Such  an  extraordinary  arrangement  was, 
perhaps,  never  before  contrived  by  the  craft  of  man. 

At  Nancy  in  the  Queen's  apartments  there  was 
sorrow  keen.  Isabelle's  heart  was  stabbed  to  the 
core.  Could  she  part  with  her  dear  children  ?  That 
was  the  question  she  had  to  answer.  The  other 
clauses  of  Rene's  charter  of  freedom  were  serious 
enough,  to  be  sure,  but  none  of  them  weighed  upon 
a  mother's  heart  as  did  this.  As  she  looked  out 
upon  the  pleasaunce  whence  came  echoes  of  childish 
laughter,  her  will  failed  her.  No,  there  they  were, 
Jean  and  Louis,  lovely  boys  of  six  and  four,  too 
tender  much  to  leave  her  fostering  care,  too  young  to 
face  the  rigours  of  captivity.  And  yet  her  dearly 
loved  husband,  Rene,  could  not  be  left  in  durance 
vile  ;  his  liberty  was  of  the  first  importance,  and  no 
sacrifice  would  be  too  great  to  bring  him  home  to  her 
again.  What  should  she  do  ?  First  of  all  she  knelt 
in  prayer  to  God,  and  implored  the  aid  of  St.  Mary 
and  the  saints.  St.  George  was  for  Lorraine.  Then 
she  hied  her  to  the  boudoir  of  her  mother,  Duchess 
Margaret,  and  fell  upon  her  bosom,  sobbing  violently, 
the  woman  with  the  courage  of  a  man  !  Those  tears, 
however,  washed  away  her  momentary  want  of 
resolution,  and  when  she  had  laid  bare  her  troubles 
before  her  sympathetic  parent,  the  answer  to  her 
prayers  came  through  the  same  devoted  channel. 

"  Isabelle,  my  child/'  the  old  Duchess  said,  "dry 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  115 

your  tears,  and  thank-God  in  any  case,  for  this  trouble 
will  pass.  St.  Mary,  the  Mother  of  Jesus,  feels  for 
you,  the  mother  of  her  boys.  She  inspires  me,  too, 
and  I  am  ready  to  take  the  dear  children  myself  to 
Dijon  or  wherever  our  Rene  may  be,  and  to  remain 
with  them  till  Philippe  of  Burgundy  plays  the  man 
and  the  Christian  and  releases  them,  and  then  our  Rene 
shall  fold  thee  to  his  heart  ere  many  suns  have  set." 

This  pious  and  heroic  resolution  of  the  good-living 
Duchess-Dowager  was,  perhaps,  no  more  than  Isabelle 
expected.  She,  of  course,  could  not  take  her  hand 
off  the  helm  of  State,  but  her  mother  was  a  persona 
grata  at  the  Burgundian  Court ;  at  least,  she  had  been 
so  when  she  came  as  a  bride  to  Nancy  many  years 
before.  The  long  and  the  short  of  the  matter  was 
that  Duke  Rene  was  released  from  his  prison  on 
March  1,  1432.  He  gave  his  parole  to  return  there 
within  a  twelvemonth  if  the  conditions  of  his  freedom 
were  not  complied  with. 

By  a  curious  concatenation  of  circumstances  the 
arrival  of  Duchess  Margaret  and  her  two  little  grand- 
sons at  Dijon  synchronized  with  that  of  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy.  He  had  been  away  in  Flanders  and  in 
the  English  camp  on  political  business,  and  had  post- 
poned the  bestowal  of  rewards  and  honours  upon  his 
adherents  at  Bulgneville.  Now  he  called  a  Chapter 
of  the  "  Order  of  the  Toison  d'Or  "  at  Bracon,  of  all 
places  in  the  duchy,  apparently  forgetful  of  the  fact 
that  his  royal  prisoner  was  there.  The  fortress 
possessed  two  towers  ;  in  one  of  these  Rene  was 
confined, — henceforward  known  as  La  Tour  de  Bar. 
There  were  three  floors ;  on  the  topmost  were  the 
Duke's  two  chambers,  below  certain  Lorraine  prisoners 
of  distinction  were  accommodated,  and  the  guard 


116    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

occupied  the  ground-floor.  The  other  tower  con- 
tained the  regalia  and  the  archives  of  the  Order.  A 
very  pleasant  story  is  told  of  a  meeting  of  the  two 
Dukes  at  Tour  de  Bar,  and  it  delightfully  illustrates 
the  French  proverb,  "Noblesse  oblige."  On  the  day 
of  the  Chapter  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  passing  the 
portal  of  Rene's  tower,  cast  up  his  eyes,  and  beheld 
his  prisoner  looking  out  of  a  window.  He  tossed  up 
his  bare  hand  in  token  of  recognition,  and  sent  an 
officer  up  to  Rene's  chamber  with  a  request  that 
he  would  permit  him  to  enter  and  hold  converse 
there.  Such  a  demand  appealed,  of  course,  in- 
stantly to  the  chivalrous  instinct  of  the  Duke  of 
Lorraine  and  Bar,  and  the  two  Sovereigns  clasped 
each  other's  hand  in  silence.  Philippe's  heart  failed 
him  at  the  greeting  of  his  captive,  and  he  shed  tears. 
Whilst  the  Princes  were  so  engaged,  a  noble  of  the 
Court  of  Dijon  approached  his  liege  and  delivered 
him  a  despatch,  the  perusal  of  which  greatly  affected 
him.  It  was,  indeed,  the  intimation  that  Duchess 
Margaret  of  Lorraine  was  in  attendance  with  Rene's 
two  young  boys  at  the  palace  in  Dijon,  awaiting 
Duke  Philippe's  pleasure.  He  communicated  the  in- 
telligence to  Duke  Rene,  who  covered  his  face  with 
his  hands  and  sank  to  his  seat  in  a  conflict  of  emotions. 
Duke  Philippe,  laying  his  hand  on  his  prisoner's 
shoulder,  said  :  "  La  parole  du  Due  du  Bar  est  plus 
forte  que  les  6tages !"  Then  he  added:  "Pray, 
Monseigneur,  consider  the  portals  of  the  Tour  de  Bar 
open  to  your  orders.  Let  us  go  together  and  greet 
the  good  Duchess  Margaret.  You  and  she  and  your 
children  shall  be  set  forth  this  day  to  Nancy.  May 
the  good  God  cheer  your  way  !"  This  was  magna- 
nimity incarnate — a  choice  trait  of  the  days  of  la, 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  117 

vraie  chivalrie  !  To  describe  the  joy  of  Rene  as  he 
once  more  caressed  his  sons  and  kissed  the  hand  of 
his  mother-in-law,  and  to  set  forth  the  rejoicings 
at  Nancy,  and,  indeed,  all  along  that  joyous  march 
from  Dijon,  with  the  blessedness  of  reunion  between 
Isabelle  and  her  spouse,  would  tax  the  pen  of  any 
ready  writer.  Rene  was  free,  and  Philippe  had 
attained  his  apogee.  Joy-bells  rang,  voices  cheered, 
and  Lorraine  and  Barrois  gave  themselves  over  to 
unbridled  festivity ;  whilst  the  Duke  and  Duchess  and 
their  two  brave  boys  made  a  royal  progress,  whereon 
they  were  nearly  torn  to  pieces  by  their  enthusiastic 
subjects.  Rene  and  Isabelle  once  more  visited  every 
town,  and  personally  thanked  all  and  sundry  for  their 
loyalty  and  affection. 

But  business  is  business  even  in  royal  circles,  and 
the  Estates  of  Lorraine  and  Bar  were  assembled  by 
the  Sovereigns  to  consider  and  fulfil  the  terms  of 
Rene's  charter  of  liberty.  The  crux  was  the  amount 
of  the  money  ransom,  and  how  to  raise  it.  Both 
duchies  were  stripped  bare  of  resources,  prolonged 
wars  had  impoverished  the  nobles,  and  had  brought 
upon  all  classes  great  privations.  In  Anjou  and 
Provence  much  the  same  conditions  existed,  and 
Queen  Yolande  had  as  much  as  she  could  do  to  make 
all  ends  meet.  King  Charles  VII.  was  a  fugitive 
or  little  better,  he  had  no  money,  and  the  Duke  of 
Brittany  had  his  own  responsibilities  and  cares.  The 
only  wealthy  member  of  the  Sicily-Anjou  family  was 
the  Queen  of  Naples,  and  she  was  financing  King 
Louis  III.  and  his  conflict  with  the  King  of  Aragon. 
Nevertheless  something  had  to  be  done,  and  Ren6 
and  Isabelle  together  put  their  pride  into  their 
pocket  and  made  approaches  to  their  unlovely  rela- 


118    RENE  D\ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

tive.      Queen   Yolande   and   Duchess  Margaret  also 
backed  up  the  appeal. 

Rene  embarked  at  Marseilles  directly  Queen 
Giovanna's  reply  reached  him,  for  she  demanded 
that  his  request  for  assistance  should  be  made  in 
person  at  Aversa.  It  was  not  a  very  pleasant  pros- 
pect that  presented  itself  to  the  Duke  of  Bar- 
Lorraine.  The  ill-fame  of  the  Queen  of  Naples  had 
by  no  means  been  lessened  by  her  attempted  liaison 
with  his  elder  brother,  King  Louis.  Nevertheless, 
Re'ne  was  prepared  to  pay  a  high  price  for  the 
20,000  saluts  d'or,  but  Isabelle  had  no  fear  for  his 
honour.  The  mission  was  a  failure.  The  Queen's 
price  was  impossible  ;  and  although  Rene  remained 
in  dalliance  upon  her,  and  played  the  part  of  a  com- 
plete courtier,  so  far  as  was  possible  for  him  to  do, 
she  dismissed  her  relative  with  a  sneer  and  a  refusal. 

News  of  Rene's  failure  reached  Nancy  before  his 
own  arrival,  and  resourceful  Duchess  Isabelle  imme- 
diately set  to  work  upon  an  alternative  plan  for 
securing  the  liberty  of  her  consort.  The  city  of 
Basel  was  then  preparing  to  receive  the  Fathers  of 
the  Ecumenical  Council  of  the  Roman  Church,  and 
with  them  the  citizens  were  required  to  welcome 
the  Emperor  of  Germany,  under  whose  protection 
they  were.  Sigismund  was  the  son  of  Marie  de 
France,  sister  of  Louis  I.  of  Sicily- Anjou.  Moreover, 
he  had  married  the  Princess  Elizabeth  of  Bavaria,  a 
sister  of  Duchess  Margaret. 

Isabelle  despatched  a  notable  embassy  to  greet 
her  uncle  the  Emperor,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
crave  his  sympathy  and  help.  A  very  favourable 
reply  came  quickly  back  to  Nancy,  and  with  the 
returning  Lorraine  envoys  travelled  two  Chamber- 
lains of  the  Imperial  Court,  sent  by  the  Emperor  to 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  119 

escort  Rene  to  Basel.  Sigismund  furthermore  cited 
the  Comte  de  Vaudemont  to  appear  before  him  and 
state  his  case.  A  most  patient  hearing  was  granted 
by  His  Majesty  to  the  arguments  of  the  victorious 
Count,  but  on  April  24  Sigismund  ascended  the 
imperial  thone  in  the  Cathedral  of  Basel,  and  there 
solemnly  gave  his  judgment.  He  decreed  that  Rene* 
was  lawful  Duke  of  Lorraine,  that  he  should  not  be 
required  to  return  to  prison,  and  that  further  grace 
should  be  allowed  for  the  payment  of  the  ransom. 

With  scant  reverence  for  the  sacred  edifice,  and 
with  much  discourtesy  to  the  Emperor  and  the 
dignitaries  who  sat  with  him  as  assessors, — the 
Papal  Legate  and  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople, — 
Vauddmont  indignantly  refused  to  accept  the  imperial 
ruling,  and  demanded  the  immediate  payment  of 
the  20,000  saluts  d'or  or  the  prompt  return  of 
Duke  Rene  to  Bracon.  Duchess  Isabelle,  who  had 
courageously  accompanied  her  husband,  fell  upon  her 
knees  before  their  stern,  irreconcilable  enemy,  and 
pleaded  with  him  to  extend  knightly  magnanimity 
towards  his  prisoner.  No !  Vaudemont  would 
have  the  duchy  or  Rene's  money  or  his  person. 
Rene,  gently  raising  his  loving  spouse,  led  her  from 
the  scene,  and  then,  tenderly  embracing  her,  he  re- 
turned to  where  he  had  left  Vaudemont  scowling. 
"  See,"  said  he,  "  here  I  am  :  take  me  at  once  to  Dijon." 
Before  leaving  the  Imperial  Court  the  Emperor 
beckoned  to  him,  and,  directing  him  to  kneel,  formally 
invested  him  with  the  temporalities  of  the  duchy 
of  Lorraine,  and  upon  Isabelle  he  bestowed  with  the 
Papal  benediction  the  honour  of  the  "Golden  Rose." 

Torn  from  the  bosom  of  his  family  once  more, 
Rene  bore  his  misfortune  like  a  man,  and  Isabelle 
rose  superior  to  her  trouble.  Their  noble  bearing 


120    REN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

gained  further  the  respect  and  good-will  of  all  the 
Sovereigns  and  peoples  of  Europe,  whilst  the  spleen 
and  meanness  of  Vaudemont  rendered  him  odious 
everywhere.  Rene  submitted  obediently  to  the 
newly-imposed  discipline.  He  beguiled  his  time  by 
adorning  the  walls  and  windows  of  his  chamber  with 
sketches  and  paintings.  What  a  thousand  pities  it 
is  that  none  of  those  treasures  have  been  preserved  ! 
Alas !  France  has  suffered  more  than  any  other  land 
from  the  suicidal  tendencies  of  her  people.  Over 
and  over  again  national  passion  has  swept  away 
works  of  art  and  historical  memorials.  King  Rene's 
frescoes  have,  with  the  fortress  of  Bracon,  wholly 
disappeared.  Music,  too,  and  poetry,  formed  for  him 
consolations.  He  composed  ballades,  he  sang  songs, 
sacred  and  profane.  He  played  the  viol  and  zither, 
and  so  whiled  away  some  of  the  tedium  of  his 
captivity.  "  Les  Chroniques  de  Lorraine"  note  that 
"  il  a  sgu  la  musique,  et  marier  la  voix  aulx  doulx 
accents  d'un  luth,  gemissant  sous  ses  doigts."* 

At  Bracon  was  the  Duke  of  Burgundy's  splendid 
library,  to  which  Rene*  was  freely  admitted.  There  he 
studied  painstakingly  classical  works  in  Greek,  Latin, 
and  Hebrew. 

Cut  off  as  he  was  entirely  from  intercourse  with 
his  family,  friends,  and  subjects,  at  times  he  gave 
way  to  melancholy,  and  regarded  himself  as  unjustly 
treated  by  Providence.  He  craved  to  behold  his 
children,  and  this  longing  was  assuaged  by  the 
chivalrous  consideration  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
who  permitted  the  little  Princes  Jean  and  Louis  to 
visit  their  unhappy  father  in  his  prison. 

*  "  He  knew  music,  and  how  to  modulate  his  voice  to  the  notes  of 
a  lute,  striking  it  with  his  fingers." 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  121 

II. 

The  years  1434  and  1435  were  full  of  tragic  happen 
ings  for  Rene  and  Isabelle.  Death  claimed  three  im- 
portant personages  near  of  kin.  All  Lorraine  mourned 
the  saintly  Duchess  Margaret.  She  died  in  her 
devoted  daughter's  arms  during  the  feast  of  Pente- 
cost, and  they  buried  her  beside  her  consort,  Charles  II., 
in  the  ducal  tomb  at  St.  George-by-the-Gate.  Her 
quiet  influence  had  been  all  for  good,  both  upon  her 
children's  account  and  upon  the  morals  of  the  Court 
and  nation.  She  could,  as  we  have  seen,  act  the 
heroine  as  well  as  the  devotee.  Isabelle  missed  her 
mother's  goodly  counsels  more  than  she  could  express 
in  words.  Rene's  greatest  loss  was  undoubtedly  his 
brother,  Louis  III.,  King  of  Sicily- Anjou  and  Naples. 
This  bereavement  wholly  changed  the  position  and 
prospects  of  the  Bar-Lorraine  ducal  family  ;  for  Louis 
dying  without  surviving  issue,  all  his  honours,  titles, 
and  dominions,  were  inherited  by  his  next  brother,  Rene. 

This  event,  and  what  it  meant  for  Rene,  were  the 
climax  of  his  career.  The  proclamation  of  the  new 
King  was  a  tragedy  and  a  travesty  combined.  The 
pathos  of  his  position  was  emphatic.  The  news 
stunned  him — powerless  and  wellnigh  nerveless,  hope- 
less and  wellnigh  demented.  He  had  not  regained 
his  equanimity,  when  the  mockery  of  his  fate  was 
borne  still  more  cruelly  upon  him  in  the  intelligence 
that  reached  him  on  February  2,  1435,  in  the  Tour 
de  Bar,  of  the  demise  of  Queen  Giovanna  II.,  whose 
will  named  him  her  successor  as  King  of  Naples. 

Louis  died  of  fever  at  Cosenza,  the  capital  of  Cala- 
bria, on  November  15,  1434,  lamented  by  his  enemies 
as  well  as  by  his  friends.  His  devoted  mother  was 


REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

not  with  him.  She  was  broken-hearted  at  the  news 
which  reached  her  at  Angers.  Alas  that  so  gallant  a 
soldier-King  should  be  cut  off  so  suddenly  and  so 
prematurely  in  the  first  bloom  of  his  manhood  !  Cast 
down  with  grief  unspeakable  and  mute,  his  girl-wife 
— still  a  bride — Marguerite,  consoled  his  last  hours. 
No  child  had  come  to  bless  their  union,  and  the 
palpitating  passion  of  the  honeymoon  was  naturally 
cooling.  The  stress,  too,  of  martial  movements 
separated  all  too  soon  and  too  frequently  the  bridal 
couple.  Still,  Queen  Marguerite  ministered  tenderly 
to  her  sick  spouse,  and  her  love  burst  forth  in  un- 
diminished  fervency  as  she  realized  that  death  would 
so  cruelly  part  them.  Very  nobly  and  unselfishly, 
Louis  in  his  will, — very  strangely,  made  exactly  to 
the  day  a  year  before, — required  all  honour  to  be 
paid  to  his  widow,  for  his  sake  as  well  as  for  her  own, 
and  left  her  the  bulk  of  his  private  property — alas ! 
greatly  diminished  by  the  expenses  of  his  military 
campaigns.  Moreover,  he  expressly  directed  that  she 
should  be  free  to  go  where  she  would, —  if  not  to 
Anjou,  then  to  her  home  again  in  Savoy, — and  he 
besought  her,  "  for  the  love  she  bore  him,  not  to  pine 
away  in  sadness,  but  to  choose  some  good  man  and 
marry  him,  for  the  relief  of  nature  and  for  the  love 
of  God." 

Marguerite  buried  Louis  with  the  burial  of  a  King, 
and  built  a  monument  to  his  memory  in  the  cathedral, 
and  she  directed  that  the  sword  of  Lancelot,  the 
British  knight  whom  Louis  had  unhorsed  at  tilt  and 
slain,  should  be  suspended  over  the  royal  burying- 
place.  Then  she  speeded  back  to  her  father's  Court, 
not  adventuring  herself  at  Naples,  where  Queen  Gio- 
vanna  lay  a-dying.  Good  and  true  wife  that  she  was, 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  123 

she  kept  her  sorrow  silently  and  unaffectedly  for 
twelve  long  years,  and  then  she  married  another  Louis 
— Louis  IV.,  Duke  of  Bavaria.  Short  was  again 
this  second  union,  for  after  another  two  years'  widow- 
hood she  married,  for  a  third  time,  Ulric  VII.,  Count 
of  Wiirternberg,  in  1452.  At  Stuttgart,  after  so 
many  tragic  changes,  Queen-Duchess-Countess  Mar- 
guerite settled  down,  and  lived  seventeen  years  in 
peace  and  happiness,  drawing  her  last  breath  upon 
the  very  day  of  November,  the  15th,  which  had  wit- 
nessed the  marriage  vows  of  Louis  III.  and  herself 
just  thirty-six  years  before. 

Duchess  Isabelle  de  Lorraine,  now  Queen  of  Sicily  - 
Anjou  and  Naples,  with  her  accustomed  promptitude, 
despatched  a  messenger  to  the  King  in  prison,  announ- 
cing her  instant  departure  for  Naples.  She  sapiently 
understood  that  her  presence  in  Italy  was  essential  if 
the  crown  of  Naples  was  to  rest  securely  upon  her 
husband's  head.  She  would  receive  the  allegiance  of 
the  Neapolitans  in  his  name,  and  administer  the 
government  as  his  Lieutenant-General.  On  Novem- 
ber 28  she  left  Nancy  with  her  second  son,  Louis, 
Marquis  of  Pont-a-Mousson,  and  travelled  post-haste 
into  Provence.  Again  her  presence  kindled  the  most 
enthusiastic  expressions  of  commiseration  for  the  lot 
of  the  King  and  Count,  and  of  devotion  to  his  person 
and  to  herself.  Men  and  money  poured  in  upon  her. 
She  welcomed  all,  and  accepted  gratefully  everybody's 
contribution. 

From  Marseilles  the  Queen  and  her  following 
sailed  to  Genoa,  where  the  Doge  and  the  nobles  gave 
her  a  right  royal  reception,  and  volunteered  help  and 
amity.  Thence  to  Milan  the  intrepid  traveller  took 
her  way,  where  she  gained  over  the  Duke,  and  he 


RENtf  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

made  Rent's  cause  his  own.  In  Rome,  Pope  Euge- 
nius  IV.  blessed  her  and  her  son,  and  conjured  all 
the  Italian  States  to  lend  their  aid.  Her  arrival  at 
Naples  was  so  entirely  unexpected  by  the  Alfonsists 
that  they  were  not  only  checkmated  in  their  attempt 
on  King  Rene's  inheritance,  but  were  thrown  into  a 
panic,  from  which  they  were  unable  to  rally. 

The  Neapolitans  of  every  grade  and  class  welcomed 
their  new  Queen  and  her  five  great  galleys,  filled  with 
the  flower  of  Provence,  Milan,  and  Genoa,  with 
every  manifestation  of  joy  and  loyalty.  Her  charms 
of  person  transported  them,  her  intrepidity  roused 
them,  and  her  gracious  words  delighted  them.  The 
old  love  of  Naples  for  the  House  of  Anjou  returned, 
and  every  adherent  of  the  Spanish  King  was  cast  out. 
Queen  Isabelle  had  very  soon  more  serious  work  in 
hand  than  graciously  acknowledging  the  salutations  of 
the  enthusiastic  citizens.  King  Alfonso  was  at  the 
gates  of  Naples  with  a  strong  force  on  land  and  sea. 
She  in  person  assumed  command  of  the  loyal  troops 
in  the  capital,  appointed  trusty  commanders,  and 
placed  Naples  in  a  good  state  of  defence.  Besieged 
rigorously  by  the  Spanish  army,  the  Queen  directed 
sorties  which  were  perfectly  successful,  and  the  enemy 
retreated  to  a  more  respectful  distance.  In  one  of 
these  affrays,  Doin  Pedro,  brother  of  the  King  of 
Aragon,  was  slain,  and  Queen  Isabelle,  with  a  spirit 
of  chivalry  worthy  of  a  noble  knight  and  a  magnani- 
mous Sovereign,  offered  his  dead  body  royal  sepulchral " 
rites  in  the  cathedral. 

During  Queen  Isabelle's  absence  from  Lorraine, 
King  Ren£  named  their  eldest  son,  Jean,  now  Duke  of 
Calabria, — the  traditional  title  of  the  heir  to  the 
throne  of  Naples, — as  his  Lieutenant  -  General  in 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  125 

Barrels  and  Lorraine,  child  though  he  was,  not  yet 
ten  years  old.  Nominally  he  was  placed  under  the 
tutelage  and  guardianship  of  Queen  Yolande,  who 
made  a  progress  to  Nancy  to  assist  in  carrying  out  her 
son's  command,  and  to  look  after  the  two  little 
"orphaned"  girls,  Yolande  and  Marguerite,  her 
granddaughters.  Most  prudently  she  abstained,  as 
might  have  been  expected  from  her  high-toned  char- 
acter, from  interfering  in  any  affairs  of  State  in  these 
two  eastern  duchies  of  her  son's  dominions.  Four 
high  officials  she  selected  to  direct  the  policy  of  the 
palace  and  safeguard  the  crown,  all  men  of  proven 
probity  and  loyal  disinterestedness,  and  to  them  she, 
by  Rene's  wish,  delegated  the  actual  charge  of  the 
young  Duke :  Jehan  de  Fenestranger,  Grand  Marshal  ; 
Gerard  de  Harancourt,  Seneschal ;  Jacques  de  Haran- 
court,  Bailli  or  Mayor  of  Nancy  ;  and  Philippe  de 
Lenoncourt,  tutor  to  the  young  Princes. 

Queen  Yolande  having  seen  all  these  matters 
settled,  and  having  named  Anne,  Countess  of  Vaude*- 
niont,  governante  of  the  two  young  Princesses,  she 
took  her  departure  to  Provence  and  Marseilles,  there 
to  await  the  course  of  events  in  Naples.  The  ap- 
pointment of  a  Vaudemont  must  have  struck  most 
people  as  extraordinary.  The  Countess  was  mother 
of  the  implacable  Count  Antoine,  and  it  was  due  to 
Queen  Yolande's  remarkable  foresightedness  that  she 
was  chosen.  She  saw  the  perils  ahead  caused  by  the 
number  and  dispersion  of  the  dominions  of  the  crowns 
unfortunate  King  Rene  had  not  yet  put  upon  his  head. 
It  appeared  to  her  that  Naples  and  Sicily  would  be 
the  chief  appanage,  and  require  the  presence  of  the 
Sovereign  almost  continuously.  Anjou  and  Provence 
might  fall  to  the  government  of  Rene's  second  son, 


126    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

and  then  Bar  and  Lorraine  would  go  to  his  daughters, 
perhaps  upon  their  marriage.  Vaude"mont  would 
never  relax  his  efforts  to  gain  Lorraine.  Might  not  a 
matrimonial  alliance  between  a  son  of  his  and  a  grand- 
daughter of  her  own,  thought  the  Queen,  solve 
amicably  and  profitably  a  very  vexed  question  ? 

All  the  while  that  Queen  Isabelle  was  holding 
Naples  for  her  consort  and  keeping  Alfonso  of  Aragon 
in  check,  nothing  was  neglected  which  might  hasten 
the  release  of  the  royal  captive.  With  commendable 
astuteness  Isabelle  made  overtures  to  her  namesake 
Isabelle,  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  and  her  efforts  were 
seconded  on  the  spot  by  Queen  Yolande.  Isabelle  of 
Portugal  was  in  disposition  and  tastes  very  much  like 
the  late  lamented  Duchess  of  Lorraine — much  affected 
by  religion,  by  charity,  by  pity.  The  separation  of 
the  King  of  Sicily -Anjou  and  Naples  from  his  family, 
and  the  sorrows  of  his  Queen,  appealed  to  her  womanly 
sympathy.  She  talked  long  and  well  to  Duke 
Philippe,  and  at  last  succeeded  in  gaining  his  signature 
to  a  decree  of  pardon  and  an  order  of  release  for  the 
distinguished  captive.  Under  her  persuasion  the 
amount  of  the  ransom  was  halved,  and  Rene's  liberty 
was  unlimited. 

King  Rene  of  Sicily- Anjou  and  Naples  was  set  free 
from  durance  vile  at  Bracon  on  November  25,  1436. 
No  doubt  this  achievement  was  greatly  due  to  the 
urgent  pressure  of  all  the  Sovereigns  of  France, 
headed  by  King  Charles  VII.  ;  indeed,  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy  had  hardly  any  choice  in  the  matter,  for 
Arthur  de  Richemont,  brother  of  the  Duke  of 
Brittany  and  Constable  of  France,  who  was  the  bearer 
of  the  united  royal  protest,  gave  him  plainly  to  under- 
stand that  the  retention  of  Rene"  at  Bracon  would 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  127 

mean  the  immediate  invasion  and  devastation  of  the 
duchy. 

Rene"  went  off  at  once  to  Nancy  and  Bar-le-Duc, 
there  to  be  welcomed  by  his  subjects  and  to  thank 
personally  his  many  warm  friends  and  helpers.  After 
embracing  his  children,  he  hurried  on  to  Angers,  where 
Queen  Yolande  greeted  him  tenderly  and  made  him 
rest  and  refresh  himself.  She  had  been  busy,  as  was 
her  wont,  in  more  matrimonial  adventures,  and  now 
she  broached  the  subject  of  the  betrothal  of  the  young 
Duke  of  Calabria,  her  eldest  grandson.  The  bride 
she  had  chosen  for  him,  with  Queen  Isabelle's  approval, 
was  the  Princess  Marie,  a  daughter  of  the  Duke  of 
Bourbon,  a  little  motherless  girl  who  had  been  under 
her  care  for  some  time.  She  was  a  granddaughter 
of  King  John  II.  the  Good,  and  niece  and  ward  of  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  dowered  her  with  50,000 
ecus  d'or. 

There  was,  however,  not  much  time  for  King  Rene* 
to  waste  in  festivities.  He  set  off  to  thank  King 
Charles,  the  Duke  of  Brittany,  and  all  the  other 
friendly  Princes  who  had  so  greatly  aided  his  deliver- 
ance. Then  he  hastened  by  water, — the  usual  method 
of  quick  transit, — down  to  his  favourite  Provence, 
where  the  transports  of  delight  with  which  he  was 
welcomed  surpassed  all  former  demonstrations.  He 
wanted  men  and  money, — and  Provence  was  never 
backward  in  contributions  for  her  Count, — for  his 
next  move  was  to  be  to  Naples,  to  embrace  his  noble 
Queen  and  relieve  her  of  her  heavy  responsibilities. 

The  usual  course  was  taken  by  the  royal  galley. 
Genoa  was  the  rendezvous,  as  of  old.  The  Genoese 
gave  their  visitor  a  splendid  reception.  His  romantic 
career  had  greatly  affected  them,  and  now  that  they 


beheld  his  gracious  person  their  delight  knew  no 
bounds.  Never  had  a  royal  visitor  such  an  ovation 
in  Liguria.  The  famous  Tommaso  Fregoso,  the 
Doge,  lodged  him  in  the  Ducal  Palace,  the  streets 
were  wreathed  in  spring  greenery,  and  all  the  maids 
and  matrons  of  the  proud  city  combed  out  their  rich 
brown,  lustrous  locks  of  hair,  jauntily  fixed  their 
white  lace  veils  with  jewelled  pins,  and  put  on  their 
best  attire  and  massive  chains  of  gold.  At  the 
entrance  of  the  Piazza  di  San  Lorenzo  one  hundred  of 
the  fairest  of  the  fair  scattered  flowers  before  King 
Renews  white  steed  of  state,  and  six  of  the  prettiest 
and  the  noblest  were  dedicated  to  his  personal  wish 
and  disposition.  This  indeed  was  a  Scriptural  and  a 
patriarchal  custom,  but  always  duly  observed  in  de- 
corous and  sensuous  Genoa.  But  again  pleasure  had 
to  give  way  to  business,  and  King  Rene  had  the  satis- 
faction of  sailing  out  of  that  famous  harbour  followed 
by  a  goodly  flotilla  of  fighting  ships  well  found. 

Rene  was  received  at  Naples  tumultuously  as 
lawful  King  and  Sovereign.  Mounted  on  a  great 
black  charger,  crowned  and  habited  in  cloth  of  gold 
and  covered  with  the  royal  mantle  of  state  of  crimson 
velvet  and  ermine,  the  sword  of  St.  Januarius  in 
his  hand,  he  rode  through  people,  flowers,  banners, 
and  huzzahs,  right  into  the  nave  of  the  cathedral  ; 
there  Queen  Isabelle  received  her  consort  exultingly, 
and  with  him  knelt  lowly  for  the  benediction  of  the 
Mass.  That  day  marked  an  amazing  contrast  in  the 
fortunes  of  two  men — King  Rene",  the  prisoner  of 
Bracon,  seated  upon  the  ancient  throne  of  Naples, 
and  King  Alfonso,  the  conqueror  of  Aragon,  pacing 
uneasily  his  prison  chamber  at  Milan  ! 

The  reunion  of  the  royal  couple  was  a  happy  thing 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  129 

indeed,  so  often  parted  had  they  been  and  so  sadly, 
Isabelle  had  acted  the  part  of  a  good  woman  and  a 
faithful  spouse  despite  splenetic  insinuations  to  the 
contrary.  Her  position  had  been  most  trying  in 
anxious  times,  and  among  ill-disposed  aspirants  for 
her  favour.  She  knew  intuitively  who  to  trust  of 
those  that  expressed  themselves  most  devoted  to  her 
service,  and  no  one  ever  was  more  zealously  pre- 
occupied with  the  interest  of  her  friends  than  she. 
Now  came  the  time  to  award  honours  to  the  faithful 
and  the  true,  and  King  Rene  deputed  his  Queen  to 
bestow  the  royal  favours.  The  first  to  profit  by 
the  new  dispensation  was,  naturally,  the  widowed 
Queen  Margaret,  who  after  the  burial  of  her  consort, 
King  Louis  III.,  had  sought  refuge  in  Naples,  under 
the  sheltering  wing  of  her  royal  sister-in-law.  Still 
resplendent  in  her  beauty  and  possessed  of  every 
youthful  grace,  the  young  Queen  was  the  object 
of  deep  solicitude  and  affection. 

The  condition  of  the  Two  Sicilies  was  parlous  ; 
almost  every  commune  was  divided  against  itself  on 
the  subject  of  the  succession  to  the  throne,  and 
almost  daily  were  recorded  deeds  of  cruelty  and 
aggression,  pointing  to  the  outbreak  of  serious 
hostilities  all  over  the  dual  kingdom.  The  blue  and 
white  ensign  of  Anjou  and  the  red  and  yellow  banner 
of  Aragon  were  reared,  not  in  friendly  contest,  but 
in  deadly  feud.  Under  these  circumstances  Rene 
judged  it  expedient  for  the  Queen  and  their  little 
son  Louis  to  go  back  to  France,  and  Queen  Margaret 
refused  to  be  separated  from  her  sympathetic  sister- 
in-law.  It  was  a  pang  to  both  again  so  soon  to  part, 
but  rulers  of  States  are  not  like  ordinary  mortals ; 
for  public  duties  must  take  precedence  of  private 


130    RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

interests.  Isabelle's  brief  rule  at  Naples  had  done 
wonders  in  the  way  of  conciliation,  and  ^tienne 
Pasquier  did  not  exaggerate  her  virtues  when  he 
wrote  :  "  Cette  vraye  Amazone,  que  dans  un  corps  de 
femme  portoit  un  cceur  d'homme,  fist  tant  d'actes 
generaux  pendant  la  prisonment  de  son  mari,  que 
ceste  piece  este  enchassee  en  lettres  d'or  dedans  les 
annales  de  Lorraine"  All  Naples  shed  tears  at 
their  beloved  Queen's  departure.  Margaret  they 
hardly  knew,  but  the  last  Queen  they  had  known, 
Giovanna,  was  hated  quite  as  thoroughly  as  Isabelle 
was  adored. 

The  galley  bearing  back  to  Marseilles  those  whom 
he  most  loved  had  hardly  passed  beyond  the  horizon 
of  the  Bay  of  Naples  when  Rene"  took  action.  On 
September  22  an  Anjou  herald  appeared  in  the  camp 
of  King  Alfonso,  and  threw  down  King  Renews  blood- 
stained glove  as  a  challenge,  first  to  a  personal 
encounter  between  the  two  Kings,  and  then  to 
a  combat  a  I'outrance  between  the  two  armies.  On 
the  part  of  Alfonso,  who  was  on  his  way  from  his 
Milan  prison,  the  challenge  was  accepted  by  his  chief 
of  the  staff,  who  indicated  the  locality  for  the  trials 
of  chivalry  and  force, — the  level  country  between  Nola 
and  Arienzo,  at  the  foot  of  Vesuvius.  Single  combat 
was  denied  by  Alfonso,  and  then  Rene*  attacked  his 
rival  with  all  the  forces  at  his  command.  Numerically 
again,  as  at  the  stricken  field  of  Bulgueville,  the 
Angevin  army  was  much  the  stronger,  for  under 
Renews  banner  marched  the  Milan-Genoese  contingent, 
with  Francesco  Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan,  at  its  head. 
Rene's  fleet,  too,  was  at  anchor  in  the  bay,  com- 
manded by  the  intrepid  Admiral  Jehan  de  Beaufort, 
to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  land  forces  of  his  King. 


1.  "  EMBARKMENT   OF    '  CUER  '   FOR    THE    'ISLAND    OF   LOVE*  " 

2.  "'CUER'    READING   THE    INSCRIPTION    ON    THE   ENCHANTED   FOUNTAIN" 

From  •'  La  Conqueste  de  Doulce  Mercy."    Written  and  illuminated  by 
King  Rene,    National  Library,  Paris 

To  face  page  130 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  131 

The  Spanish  army  was  better  disciplined  and  better 
furnished  with  artillery,  and  King  Rene  once  more 
had  to  bow  to  circumstances,  and  to  look  in  vain  for 
Fortune's  smile.  His  forces  were  cut  in  two  and 
slaughtered  right  and  left,  and  he  himself  wounded 
and  all  but  captured,  for  he  was  not  a  leader  to 
skulk  behind  his  men  :  he  led  the  van,  and  was  ever 
in  the  thick  of  the  fight.  His  appeal,  "  Anjou-Cecile  ! 
Amor  Chevaliers  /"  was  of  no  avail.  He  was  beaten, 
and  fled  with  only  two  knights,  and  shut  himself 
in  Castel  Nuovo.  A  truce  was  signed,  and  the 
King  of  Naples  went  off  to  report  his  defeat  at 
Rome,  Florence,  and  Genoa. 

Pope  Eugenius  IV.  and  the  Emperor  Joannes 
Paleologos,  who  were  both  at  Florence,  received  the 
royal  fugitive  ardently,  blessed  him,  and  awarded 
him  and  his  heirs,  disregarding  the  victory  of  King 
Alfonso,  the  right  to  govern  the  Two  Sicilies  in 
perpetuity.  The  Medici  and  other  Florentines  of  mark 
and  wealth  offered  subsidies  for  the  recovery  of  the 
Neapolitan  throne,  and  at  Genoa  and  Milan  men  and 
supplies  were  to  be  had  for  the  asking  ;  but  Rene  had 
had  his  fill  of  war,  and  bloodshed  was  now  to  him 
abhorrent.  "  Too  much  blood,"  he  remarked,  "  has 
been  shed  already.  We  will  rest  awhile,  and  ask 
God  to  pardon  our  sins."  Rene  returned  to  Marseilles 
in  1442  a  sadder  and  a  wiser  man.  There  he  met 
once  more  his  Queen,  to  rejoice  his  stricken  heart ; 
but  that  heart,  and  hers  too,  tenderly  bled  again  and 
again,  for  not  only  did  the  melancholy  news  of  his 
good  mother's  death  in  Anjou  shatter  him,  but 
Isabelle  and  he  had  the  terrible  grief  of  parting  with 
their  dearly-loved  second  son,  the  Marquis  of  Pont-a- 
Mousson.  Prince  Louis,  so  promising,  so  handsome, 


and  so  loyal,  they  buried  sadly  :  he  was  his  mother's 
favourite  child,  the  companion  of  her  triumphs  and 
her  trials. 

King  Rene  was  called  from  his  grief  over  the 
tomb  of  his  young  son  to  Tours  by  Charles  of  France. 
To  the  French  Court  had  come  Ambassadors,  with 
the  Earl  of  Suffolk  at  their  head,  to  treat  for  peace 
between  the  two  conflicting  kingdoms.  The  French 
King,  with  his  usual  lassitude,  deputed  to  King  Rene 
the  conduct  of  the  deliberations,  which  ended  honour- 
ably for  all  parties  concerned,  in  the  guarantee  of  two 
years'  cessation  of  hostilities,  with  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  in  statu  quo.  Nearer  home,  however, 
matters  were  not  so  stable  ;  the  state  of  the  allied 
duchies  was  deplorable.  So  insecure  were  the  roads 
in  Lorraine, — infested  by  wandering  bands  of  discon- 
tented peasantry  and  ill-affected  townspeople, — that 
travelling  was  attended  with  the  utmost  danger. 
The  higher  the  dignity  of  a  wayfarer,  the  greater  the 
eagerness  to  attack  and  pilfer.  Queen  Isabelle  was 
herself  the  victim  of  a  dastardly  outrage.  Journeying 
forth  soon  after  her  dear  son  Louis's  death,  to  pray 
at  his  grave  at  Pont-a-Mousson,  her  cortege  was 
attacked  by  a  party  of  marauders  from  Metz.  They 
compelled  her  to  leave  her  litter,  with  its  cloth  of 
gold  curtains  and  luxurious  cushions,  and  subjected 
her  to  rough  treatment  in  spite  of  her  protestations. 

"You  villains!"  she  cried,  "you  know  perfectly 
who  I  am.  How  dare  you  offer  this  gross  insult  to 
your  Sovereign!  Begone,  and  let  me  pass.  You 
shall  richly  pay  for  your  temerity."  Jeers  and  offen- 
sive remarks  greeted  this  haughty  command.  They 
cared  nothing  for  Isabelle  nor  her  consort;  indeed, 
they  were  unrighteous  allies  of  the  Count  of  Vaude- 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  133 

mont.  The  Duchess  was  stripped  of  her  jewellery, 
her  cqffrets  were  rifled,  and  her  servants  beaten,  and 
then  the  miscreants  made  off. 

The  Queen  hastily  returned  to  Nancy,  and  laid  the 
matter  before  the  Council,  demanding  satisfaction. 
"  Unless  you,  my  lords,"  she  said,  "  at  once  make  a 
strong  representation  to  the  Governor  of  Metz,  I  will 
set  off  to  Anjou,  and  bring  the  King  back  to  recom- 
pense the  miscreants."  All  the  chivalry  of  France 
was  shocked  at  this  amazing  outrage,  and  King 
Charles,  with  Arthur  de  Richemont  and  a  strong 
force,  hurried  into  Lorraine  from  Dauphine,  deter- 
mined to  make  an  example  of  the  gross  behaviour 
of  the  Messins.  The  city  barricaded  her  gates, 
sounded  the  tocsin,  and  prepared  to  resist,  if  might 
be,  the  united  forces  of  France.  The  besieged  held 
out  for  six  months,  flinging  taunt  on  taunt  against 
the  King  and  Queen.  At  last  it  fell,  and  the  price 
the  rebels  had  to  pay  was  onerous,  besides  the  for- 
feiture of  all  their  charters  and  privileges.  A  general 
amnesty  was  granted  on  February  27,  1445,  in 
Barrois  as  well  as  in  Lorraine.  The  Messins 
signalized  their  deliverance  by  offering  to  their  liege 
Lord  complete  allegiance,  together  with  25,000  ecus 
d'or  enclosed  in  a  splendid  gold  and  enamelled  vase. 

Rene  now  for  the  first  time  in  his  thirty  years  of 
public  service  and  command  found  himself  in  the 
possession  of  that  rare  blessing,  Peace,  and  he  pre- 
pared to  celebrate  it  adequately.  Isabelle,  too,  was 
only  too  thankful  for  the  respite  ;  her  sorrows  and 
anxieties  had  wellnigh  broken  her  courageous  heart. 
After  she  parted  with  her  husband  in  the  Bay  of 
Naples,  she  landed  at  Marseilles,  and  made  all  haste 
to  Angers,  too  late,  indeed,  to  soothe  the  last 


134    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

moments  of  her  noble  mother-in-law,  but  drawn  there 
by  the  tranquillity  of  Anjou.  There  she  gave  herself 
to  the  education  of  her  two  young  daughters,  to  whom 
she  was  happily  reunited — Marguerite  just  thirteen, 
and  Yolande  a  year  younger.  Rene  again  joined  his 
spouse,  whom  he  loved  so  fondly,  and  in  whose 
honour  he  had  adopted  a  new  royal  motto  and  cipher, 
"  Ardent  Desir"  below  a  burning  brasier.  They  gave 
themselves  up  to  religious  exercises,  and  led  a  calm 
and  retired  life — precious  to  them  both  after  the 
alarums  of  the  past.  The  world  was  still  very  young 
for  them  both — Rene  no  more  than  thirty-seven,  and 
Isabelle  two  years  his  junior. 

The  most  delightful  ingredient  in  their  full  cup  of 
joy  was  the  home-coming  of  their  son  and  heir,  Prince 
Jean,  Duke  of  Calabria  and  Lieutenant-General  of 
Barrois-Lorraine.  During  eleven  strenuous  years  he 
and  his  devoted  parents  had  rarely  met.  He  had 
zealously,  after  their  brave  example,  addressed  himself 
to  his  public  duties,  and  had  won  golden  opinions 
from  the  loyal  subjects  of  the  throne.  He  was  near- 
ing  his  majority,  and  with  him  came  his  young  wife 
Marie,  whose  marriage  had  been  but  lately  accom- 
plished. They  were  stepping  bravely  together  along 
the  marital  way,  which  their  grandparents  and  their 
parents  had  traversed,  unscathed  by  scandal  and 
beloved  by  all. 

Great  festivities  were  organized  at  Angers,  Tarascon, 
and  Nancy,  to  celebrate  the  general  peace,  and  in  partic- 
ular the  betrothal  of  Princess  Marguerite  d'Anjou.  A 
magnificent  tournament  was  held  between  Razilly  and 
Chinon  in  the  summer  of  1446,  which  attracted  all 
the  most  famous  knights  in  France  and  beyond  the 
frontiers  and  an  immense  crowd  of  spectators.  One 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  135 

there  was,  and  she  one  of  the  fairest  of*the  fair,  came 
riding  beside  her  father,  one  of  King  Rene's  dearest 
friends,  Count  Guy  de  Laval ;  and  the  King  for  the 
first  time  set  eyes  upon  lovely  Jehanne,  who  was 
destined  to  mingle  her  destiny  with  his  right  on  to 
his  dying  day.  Rene  caused  "  Le  Chdtel  de  Joyeuse 
Garde  "  to  be  built  of  wood  richly  adorned  with  paint- 
ings, tapestries,  and  garlands,  and  for  forty  days  jousts 
and  floral  games  engaged  the  attention  of  the  gallant 
and  beauteous  company.  A  very  singular  and  popular 
custom  was  inaugurated  at  the  King's  suggestion. 
Four  knights  of  proved  probity  crossed  their  lances 
in  the  roadway  beyond  the  Castle  of  Chinon.  Cava- 
liers, accompanied  by  their  ladies  fair,  were  made  to 
fight  their  way  through  and  carry  safe  their  sweet- 
hearts. A  faint  heart  lost  his  lady,  a  knight  un- 
horsed his  horse,  and  a  victorious  competitor  his  sash 
of  knighthood,  which  was  immediately  tied  to  the 
crupper  of  his  fair  one's  palfrey.  The  King  himself 
took  his  place  in  the  "  Lists  "  in  black  armour ;  his 
mantle  was  of  black  velvet  sewn  with  silver  lilies  of 
Anjou,  and  his  well-trained  charger  was  black  also. 
Queen  Isabelle  and  her  ladies  occupied  a  flower- 
decked  tribune,  and  with  her  was  poor  young  Queen 
Marguerite  and  her  son's  child-wife,  Marie.  They 
were  the  Queens  of  the  Tournament,  but  the  damosel 
Jehanne  de  Laval  was  "  Queen  of  Beauty,"  scarce 
thirteen  years  old. 

Alas  !  a  deadly  "bolt  shot  out  of  the  blue."  The 
Duchess  of  Calabria  had  but  just  risen  from  child-bed  ; 
she  was  not  strong  enough  to  bear  the  excitement 
and  the  toil  of  such  tumultuous  gaiety,  and  upon  the 
last  day  of  the  tournament  she  fainted  in  the  royal 
tribune,  and  breathed  out  her  brief  life  before  she 


136    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

could  be  borne  to  couch.  Thus  into  life's  sweetest 
joys  comes  sadly  too  often  the  relentless  bitterness  of 
sorrow.  Faces  which  only  a  few  short  hours  before 
were  wreathed  in  smiles  were  furrowed  with  the  ravages 
of  grief  ere  the  curfew  sounded.  The  tournament  ended 
in  a  "Triumph  of  the  Black  Buffaloes."  Happily, 
perhaps,  the  child  died  too,  and  both  sweet  bodies 
were  consigned  to  one  flower-decked  grave  in  the 
chapel  garden  of  the  Castle  of  Saumur, — "  la  gentilte 
et  la  bien  assise," — a  paradise  of  fragrant  trees  and 
pleasant  prospects. 

Dire  news,  too,  reached  Angers  from  Provence. 
A  winter  of  unparalleled  inclemency  was  followed  by 
a  famine  and  a  pest,  which  decimated  people  and 
domestic  animals,  and  wrought  havoc  with  the  crops. 
Rene  and  Isabelle  took  boat  once  more  for  their 
southern  province,  and  their  "  le  bon  roy"  as  he  was 
now  called  affectionately  by  his  subjects,  laid  himself 
out  to  alleviate  his  people's  sufferings.  Taxes  were 
remitted,  the  poor  fed  and  clothed,  and  farms  re- 
stocked. "  La  bonte"  he  said,  "  est  la  premiere 
grandeur  des  roys."  People  noted  the  King's  grey 
hair — hair  "  white  less  by  time  than  white  through 
trouble,"  as  chroniclers  have  written.  Trouble  makes 
all  the  world  akin  :  the  King  and  Queen  bore  their 
people's,  and  they  humbly  shared  their  rulers'  griefs. 

The  clouds  cleared  off  that  sunny  land,  and  birds 
once  more  sang  in  the  meadows,  and  men  and  maids 
were  gay.  Then  it  was  Tarascon's  turn  to  celebrate 
the  virtues  of  the  Count  and  Countess  of  Provence. 
A  Proven§al  tournament  was  a  celebration  ne  plus 
ultra,  and  Rene  made  that  of  1448  famous  and 
unique  by  his  institution  of  the  knightly  "  Ordre  du 
Croissant."  To  be  sure,  it  was  established  at  Angers, 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  137 

whose  warrior-patron,  St.  Maurice,  was  honoured  as 
guardian  and  exemplar  of  chivalry,  and  in  whose 
cathedral  church  the  banners  of  the  knights  were 
hung.  The  King  himself  drew  up  the  statutes  of 
the  Order.  With  characteristic  and  chivalrous 
modesty,  he  named,  not  himself  First  Master,  but  chose 
Guy  de  Laval  for  that  honourable  post.  Conditions 
of  membership  were  dictated  by  religion,  courtesy, 
and  charity,  in  harmony ;  only  knights  of  goodly  birth 
and  unblemished  reputation  were  eligible.  They  were 
enjoined  to  hear  Mass  daily  and  to  recite  the  daily 
"  Hours."  Fraternal  love  was  to  be  exemplified  in 
all  dealings  with  their  fellow-men  at  large.  An 
impious  oath  or  an  indecent  jest  was  never  to  pass 
their  lips.  Women  and  children  were  in  a  special 
sense  committed  to  their  care.  The  poor  and  ailing 
were  to  engage  their  best  offices.  Debts  of  every  sort 
and  gambling  under  every  guise  were  absolutely  for- 
bidden. With  respect  to  the  fair  sex,  the  code  of 
rules  had  in  golden  letters  the  following  order  :  "De 
ne  mesdire  des  femmes  de  quelques  estats  quelles  soient 
pour  chose  qui  doibue  d'advenir."  The  knights  first 
impanelled,  having  taken  their  oaths  of  obedience 
and  accepted  service,  departed  from  Anjou,  and  made 
their  rendezvous  at  the  King's  Castle  of  Tarascon  on 
August  11.  Rene  himself  again  entered  the  "Lists," 
but  champion  honours  were  carried  off  by  his  son-in- 
law,  Ferri  de  Vaudemont,  and  Louis  de  Beauvais ;  and 
the  Queen-Countess  Isabelle  placed  floral  crowns  upon 
their  brows,  a  golden  ring  upon  their  right  hands,  and 
received  a  kiss  of  homage  upon  her  still  smooth  and 
comely  cheek. 

Nancy   was   the   scene   of   the    most    magnificent 
gaieties  Lorraine  had  ever  beheld.     The  espousals  of 


138     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

the  Princess  Marguerite  and  King  Henry  VI.  were 
solemnized  in  the  ancient  Gothic  church  of  St.  Martin 
at  Pont-a-Mousson  by  Louis  d'Harcourt,  Bishop  of 
Toul.  The  King  was  represented  by  the  gallant 
Earl  of  Suffolk,  one  of  the  most  famous  Knights  in 
Europe.  The  ecclesiastical  ceremony  was  rendered 
all  the  more  auspicious  by  the  joint  nuptials  of  the 
Princess  Yolande  and  Count  Ferri  de  Vaudemont. 
All  France, — Sovereigns,  ladies,  nobles,  citizens, — 
thronged  around  the  King  and  Queen  ;  their  con- 
gratulations were,  however,  restrained  until  the 
actualities  of  the  Vaudemont  marriage  were  revealed. 
To  marry  a  dear  child  to  the  son  of  a  man's  worst 
enemy  appeared  quixotic  at  the  least,  and  few  called 
to  mind  that  strange  clause  in  Rene's  charter  of 
release  from  Bracon.  The  King  was,  as  Duke 
Philippe  of  Burgundy  had  styled  him,  a  man  of  his 
word  ;  and  if  proof  were  wanted,  then  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  young  bridegroom's  mother,  the  Countess, 
as  governante  of  Rene's  daughters  furnished  it. 
Besides  this,  the  presence  of  the  Count  himself  at 
the  marriage  of  his  son  exhibited  not  only  the  recon- 
ciliation of  the  two  rivals  for  the  throne  of  Lorraine, 
but  emphasized  the  innate  chivalry  of  both.  To  be 
sure,  Antoine  de  Vaudemont  was  in  ill-health,  his 
fighting  days  were  over,  and  he  was  searching  for 
comfort  and  absolution  before  he  faced  his  end  ;  and, 
in  truth,  that  end  was  nearer  than  he  thought,  for  he 
died  six  months  after  he  had  given  his  blessing  to 
Ferri  and  Yolande. 

A  pretty  and  characteristic  story  is  told  of  the 
loves  of  Ferri  and  Yolande.  King  Rene  was  wishful 
that  his  daughter  and  future  son-in-law  should  attain 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  139 

more  mature  age  before  the  consummation  of  Count 
Antoine's  wishes  concerning  them.  The  young 
knight,  "  who  was/'  wrote  Martial,  "  regarded  among 
men  and  youths  much  as  Helen  of  Troy  was  among 
her  companions," — a  very  handsome  fellow, — chafed 
at  delay,  and,  emboldened  by  the  vows  of  his  fiancee, 
one  dark,  windy  night  he  with  two  trusty  comrades 
broke  into  her  boudoir,  where  she,  ready  for  the 
signal,  awaited  her  lover.  Romeo  carried  his 
Juliet  away  to  Clermont  in  Argone,  and  held 
her  till  her  father  consented  to  their  marriage.  This 
story  is  contained  in  an  old  manuscript,  the  handi- 
work of  Louis  de  Grasse,  the  Sire  of  Mas. 

Splendid  f§tes  covering  eight  full  days  followed 
the  Church  ceremonies.  The  "  Lists  "  were  held  in 
the  Grande  Place  of  Nancy,  in  the  presence  of  the 
right  worshipful  company,  headed  by  Kings  Charles 
and  Rene  and  Queens  Isabelle,  Marie,  and  Margaret. 
Quaintly  Martial  d'Auvergne  wrote  in  "  Les  Vigiles 
de  Charles  VIL": 

"  Les  Eoynes  de  France,  Seville, 
La  Fiancee  et  la  Dauphine, 
Et  d'autres  dames,  belles  filles, 
Si  enfirent  devoir  condigne."  * 

All  the  chdtelaines  forsook  their  manoirs  and  took 
the  field-marital  in  force.  Mars  had  come  in  strength, 
Venus  would  join  the  fray,  and  victory  was  never 
doubtful.  If  comely,  gallant,  doughty  knights  fell 
not  in  deathly  conflict  in  those  "  Lists  "  of  love,  their 
hearts  were  captured  by  fair  vanquishers  all  the  same. 

*  "The  Queens  of  France  and  Sicily, 
The  Bride  and  the  Dauphine, 
And  many  other  dames  of  honour, 
Compelled  the  homage  of  the  men." 


140    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

"  En  gagea  sans  retour 
Son  cceur  et  sa  libertd" 

describes  those  battle-fields  of  Cupid's  warfare  ! 

The  pageantry  of  the  tournament  over,  the  panoply 
of  the  encampment  claimed  the  knightly  company  of 
Nancy,  and  a  mighty  cavalcade — ladies,  too,  in  litter 
and  on  palfrey — ambled  off  serenely  to  the  great  wide 
plains  of  Champagne,  where  Rene  and  Charles  re- 
viewed at  Chalons-sur-Marne  the  united  armies  of  all 
the  crowns.  It  was  a  sight  which  stirred  all  the 
best  blood  in  France,  and  spoke  to  her  Sovereigns  and 
her  statesmen  of  a  new  age,  when  the  artifices  of  war 
should  give  place  to  the  arts  of  peace.  Alas  !  when 
human  things  appear  to  promise  peace  and  joy,  there 
ever  comes  over  the  scene  the  pall  of  Providence. 
War  again  broke  out  between  France  and  England, 
but  now  the  French  held  their  own  and  more;  and 
King  Rene,  revived  in  military  ardour,  led  the 
victorious  vanguard,  and  crowned  his  bays  of  triumph 
by  new  palms  of  peace. 

Sad  news  came  to  him,  however,  when  in  Normandy, 
from  his  ancestral  Angers.  His  devoted  and  dearly 
loved  Queen,  Isabelle,  was  laid  low  with  illness. 
Stalking  fever  had  crossed  the  castle  moat  and  fixed 
its  baneful  touch  upon  the  royal  chdtelaine.  Do  what 
she  would, — and  her  will  to  the  end  was  vigorous 
enough, — she  could  not  shake  off  the  deadly  visitant. 
She  felt  that  her  end  was  approaching  unrelent- 
lessly,  and  with  admirable  piety  the  noble,  high-toned 
Queen  controlled  her  pains,  and  patiently  prepared 
herself  to  face  her  last  foe  with  courageous  resignation. 
Her  children  were  gathered  by  her  bedside — Jean 
and  Yolande  in  person,  Marguerite  in  spirit,  and 


ISABELLE  DE  LORRAINE  141 

perhaps  Louis,  too,  from  his  tomb  at  Pont-a-Mousson. 
Quietly  and  prayerfully  on  February  28,  1453,  she 
passed  away  to  join  her  babes  in  Paradise,  and 
"  Black  Angers  "  was  plunged  in  deepest  mourning. 

The  death  of  a  great  Queen  deeply  affects  men  and 
women  everywhere.  Isabelle's  name,  like  that  of 
"  good  Queen  Yolande,"  had  become  a  household  word 
in  Europe  far  and  wide.  Everywhere  tokens  of 
bereavement  were  displayed,  and  King  Rene,  the 
royal  widower,  hastening  home  too  late  to  close  his 
fond  wife's  eyes  in  death,  wrote  in  his  tablets : 
"  Since  the  life  of  my  dear,  dear  wife  has  been  cut 
off  by  death,  my  heart  has  lost  its  love,  for  she  was 
the  mainspring  of  my  consolations."  In  every  one 
of  his  "  Livres  des  Heures,"  and  in  other  books  and 
places,  the  artist  in  the  Sovereign  painted  and  drew 
the  features  and  the  figure  of  his  Queen. 

Their  married  life, — chequered  as  it  had  been, — 
had  been  as  happy  as  could  be.  Devoted  to  one 
another  with  a  rare  force  of  faithfulness  which  knew 
no  flaw,  Rene  and  Isabelle  were  examples  for  their 
generation.  No  stone  has  ever  been  cast  at  either 
of  them.  Nine  children  were  born  to  them  :  four, 
Charles,  Rene,  Anne,  and  Isabelle,  died  in  infancy  ; 
Nicholas,  their  third  son,  was  a  twin  with  Yolande, 
born  in  1428  ;  he  had  the  title  of  Duke  of  Bar,  but 
died  before  his  majority.  Good  Queen  Isabelle  was 
buried  in  the  Cathedral  of  Angers,  where  nearly 
forty  years  later  Rene's  bones  were  laid  beside  her 
ashes,  to  mingle  in  the  common  decay  till  the  last 
trump  shall  sound  to  wake  the  dead. 

There  cannot  be  a  better  summing  up  of  her  gifts, 
her  graces  and  her  virtues  than  in  the  words  of  the 


REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

sententious  life's  motto  she  herself  composed,  and 
wrote  in  golden  letters  upon  parchment,  and  gave  to 
each  of  her  dear  children  : 

"Si  V  Amour  fault,  la  Foy  n'est  plus  chdrie  ; 
Si  Foy  pdrit,  I' Amour  s'en  va  pdrie  ; 
Pour  ce,  les  ay  en  devise  liez 
Amour  et  Foy."  * 

*  "  If  Love  fails,  Faith  becomes  more  precious ; 
If  Faith  perishes,  Love  dies  too ; 

Whence  Love  and  Faith  together  are  my  device." 


CHAPTER  V 

JEANNE  D'ARC — "LA  PUCELLE,"  "LA  BLANCHE  REINE 


DE    FRANCE  " 


I. 

"  GIVE  me  Duke  Rene  de  Barrels,  the  noble  son  of 
good  Queen  Yolande,  to  guide  me  into  France." 
The  request  was  made  by  a  simple  village  maiden 
aged  not  more  than  seventeen  years,  and  the  person- 
age she  addressed  was  Charles  II.,  Duke  of  Lorraine. 
It  was  an  extraordinary  request ;  the  occasion,  too, 
was  extraordinary. 

Born  on  the  Feast  of  the  Epiphany  in  the  year 
1412,  of  worthy  peasants,  at  Domremy,  in  Alsace, — 
Jacques  d'Arc  and  Isabelle  Romee,  his  wife, — Jeanne 
was  the  younger  of  their  two  daughters  ;  she  had 
three  brothers  older  than  herself.  Domremy  was  a 
squalid  little  hamlet,  like  many  another  upon  the 
Meuse,  boasting  of  the  mother-church  of  the  com- 
mune— a  grim  old  building,  but  glorified  by  many 
figures  of  holy  saints  in  its  coloured  windows.  The 
nearest  village  was  Maxey,  upon  the  borders  of 
Lorraine.  The  villagers  were  in  constant  feud — 
Domremy  for  the  King  of  France  and  her  own  Duke 
at  Nancy,  Maxey  for  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  the 
hated  English.  Sieur  Jacques  d'Arc  and  his  three 

stalwart,  hard-working  sons  were  as  ready  with  the 

143  10 


144     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

pike  as  they  were  handy  with  the  plough.  Mere 
Isabelle  and  her  two  daughters  were  zealous  backers 
of  their  menfolk. 

Sieur  Jacques  was,  as  peasant  farmers  went,  a  man 
of  substance  and  well  connected.  He  had  saved  a 
goodly  sum  of  money,  and  owned,  perhaps,  the  biggest 
flock  of  sheep  in  the  country-side.  Milch  cows  and 
fattening  oxen  grazed  his  wide  meadows.  He  was  a 
man  of  probity,  and  had  served  the  ancestral  office  of 
Maire  of  Domremy  for  many  a  year.  Mere  Isabelle 
excelled  in  stitchery  as  well  as  in  the  rearing  of 
poultry  and  the  cultivation  of  her  fair  garden  plot. 
When  about  to  be  delivered  of  her  youngest  child, 
she  dreamed  three  times  that  she  should  bear  a  girl, 
and  that  she  should  become  famous  in  her  country's 
history.  The  narrative  goes  on  to  say  that  many 
unusual  circumstances  attended  her  child's  nativity  : 
a  fierce  thunderstorm  shook  the  dwelling,  and 
mysterious  voices  uttered  the  strange  cry  :  "  Aux 
secours  !  aux  secours  de  la  France  /" 

Jeanne,  the  little  daughter,  was  duly  christened  by 
the  cur6,  and  from  her  mother's  womb  she  was  a 
child  of  dedication — St.  Catherine  and  St.  Margaret 
were  her  spiritual  sponsors.  Precocious  from  her 
weaning,  both  in  physical  growth  and  mental  develop- 
ment, she  grew  up  a  devotee  at  Mass  and  shrine. 
She  sought  solitude  and  silence,  and  declined  to  share 
her  playmates'  games.  Other  children  thought  her 
odd,  and  old  crones  shook  their  heads  and  pitied 
Sieur  Jacques  and  his  worthy  spouse.  Jeanne's 
favourite  resort  was  a  thicket  near  her  parents'  home, 
— Le  Bois  Chenus  it  was  called, — an  oak-wood  grove 
where  her  father's  pigs  greedily  sought  for  acorns. 
The  Bois  had,  however,  a  weird  repute  ;  it  had  been, 


JEANNE  D'ARC 
From  a  Fresco  by  E.  Lepenveu.     Pantheon,  Paris 


To  face  page  1 14 


JEANNE  D'ARC  145 

centuries  before,  a  sacrificial  site  of  heathen  worship, 
and  the  village  folk  avoided  it  at  night,  for  they  said 
they  saw  strange  figures  under  the  trees  and  heard 
strange  sounds, — in  fact,  the  wood  was  haunted. 

One  summer's  day  in  July,  1424,  Jeanne  d'Arc 
was  seated,  as  was  her  wont,  upon  an  ancient  fallen 
menhir  at  the  verge  of  the  coppice.  She  was  shell- 
ing peas,  and  she  also  had  her  knitting  by  her.  The 
hour  of  the  day  was  nearly  that  of  the  "  Angelus," 
when  the  frightened  damsel  heard  an  unusual  rustling 
of  the  oaken  branches  overhead,  and  somewhere  out 
of  the  tree  or  out  of  the  sky  voices  sounded  faintly 
upon  her  ear.  At  the  same  time  a  strange  lurid 
light  gleamed  between  her  and  the  church-tower 
across  the  meadow.  Laying  aside  her  occupation, 
she  listened  breathlessly,  almost  in  a  trance,  to  what 
the  "  Voices  "  said ;  they  were  pitched  in  soothing 
female  treble  accents. 

"  Jeanne  soit  bonne  et  sage  enfant,"  said  one  ;  and 
another  went  on  :  "Fa  souvent  a  Veglise"  Surely 
the  heavenly  speakers  were  Jeanne's  holy  guardians, 
St.  Catherine  and  St.  Margaret.  Jeanne  was 
riveted  to  the  spot,  and  moved  not  till  the  twilight 
brought  her  sister  looking  for  her.  Jeanne  said 
nothing,  but  for  seven  days  in  succession  she  sat 
as  at  the  first,  and  heard  the  same  solemn  words 
repeated  ;  then  on  the  seventh, — it  was  Saturday, — 
another  wonder  appeared  to  her  :  a  very  glorious  holy 
one  and  a  watcher, — the  great  St.  Michael,  God's 
warring  archangel,  in  shining  armour, — stood  before 
her  under  the  great  oak-tree,  and  bade  her  give  heed 
to  what  he  said.  He  told  her  eloquently  and  con- 
vincingly the  story  of  the  sad  state  of  France — 
devoured  by  enemies,  torn  by  factions,  her  King  a 


146    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

fugitive  uncrowned.  When  the  heavenly  visitant 
had  finished  his  impassioned  narrative,  he  bade 
Jeanne  kneel,  and,  touching  her  shoulder  with  his 
flashing  sword,  said  :  "  Jeanne  va  toy  aux  secours  du 
roy  de  France." 

The  girl  swooned  as  soon  as  her  ghostly  visitor 
had  vanished,  and  so  was  found,  and  borne  to  her 
couch  by  her  brothers  in  alarm.  In  delirium  for  days 
and  nights,  she  kept  on  repeating  what  the  archangel 
had  said,  until,  amid  broken-hearted  sobs,  her  grieving 
parents  counted  her  as  mad.  All  the  gossips  of  the 
village  and  those  from  more  distant  homes  shook 
their  heads  sadly,  and  said  more  fervently  their  Ave 
Marias.  Jeanne  was  not  mad,  and  after  she  had 
recovered  her  usual  demeanour  she  related  to  her 
doubting  father  and  mother  and  the  good  cure  her 
mysterious  story.  The  good  priest  proposed  to  exor- 
cise the  evil  spirit  which  he  was  convinced  was  in  her. 
Her  father, — a  matter-of-fact  sort  of  man,  and 
serious-minded,  like  all  the  peasant-folk  of  France, 
— thought  a  good  thrashing  was  her  deserts  ;  her 
mother  sided  with  her  :  she  remembered  the  strange 
cry  at  her  Jeanne's  birth.  Jeanne  heard  all  they 
had  to  say,  and  kept  silence,  her  protestations  only 
adding  fuel  to  the  fire  of  denunciation.  She  resumed 
her  usual  avocations,  but  daily  sat  to  hear  the 
"  Voices,"  as  she  called  her  ghostly  visitants,  and 
daily  they  repeated  their  strange  instructions.  She 
spent  much  time  upon  her  knees  in  the  church,  and 
at  last  the  cure,  good  man,  gave  heed  to  her  infatua- 
tion. "  If  this  be  from  God,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"  no  man  may  stay  her."  He  wondered,  naturally, 
how  this  quiet  and  devout  village  girl  could  ever  be 
the  Divine  instrument  for  the  deliverance  of  France. 


JEANNE  D'ARC  147 

Jeanne's  simplicity  and  sincerity,  her  earnestness 
and  good  behaviour,  however,  gradually  silenced  un- 
friendly critics  ;  and  although  most  folk  regarded  her 
as  mad,  many  believed  her  story  and  watched 
developments.  The  strange  revelation  of  the  maid 
of  Domremy  travelled  far  and  wide,  and  brought 
many  a  neighbour  and  many  a  stranger  to  question 
her.  Among  the  rest  came  Sieur  Durand  Laxaert, 
her  mother's  uncle  by  marriage — a  man  of  means,  too, 
and  well  known  the  country  round.  He  questioned 
Jeanne,  he  questioned  her  parents,  he  questioned  the 
village  cure",  and  then  he  went  off  and  told  the 
amazing  story  to  his  friend,  Chevalier  Robert  de 
Baudricourt,  the  Captain  of  Vaucouleurs,  a  market- 
town  in  Champagne,  not  far  from  Domremy.  The 
gallant  Captain  listened  attentively,  but  when  the 
story  was  completed  he  burst  out  laughing.  "  Why, 
man,"  said  he,  "  you  and  all  of  them  are  crazy  !  Just 
go  back  and  box  the  child's  ears  soundly  ;  that's  the 
way  to  treat  this  sort  of  nonsense." 

The  matter  dropped  so  far  as  the  Chevalier  was 
concerned,  but  again,  in  the  following  January,  Sieur 
Laxaert  approached  Baudricourt,  and  asked  him  to 
see  his  young  neice.  He  consented,  and  Jeanne, 
wearing  her  coarse  red  homespun  kirtle  and  heavy 
wooden  shoes  and  her  village  girl's  coif,  was  intro- 
duced to  the  unbelieving  Captain.  He  was  dum- 
founded  by  her  appearance,  for  the  lass  was  no  village 
hoyden.  Her  figure  was  slender,  her  features  refined  ; 
her  great  brown  eyes, — staring  into  his  face, — told 
only  of  simple  faith  and  untarnished  honour.  Her 
voice  was  low  and  sweet,  and  there  was  a  something 
eerie  and  incomprehensible  about  her  which  struck 
the  good  man,  and  made  him  feel  uncomfortable. 


148    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

When  he  asked  her  what  she  wanted,  she  promptly 
replied  :  "  I  want  to  be  led  to  the  King  of  France." 

"  My  child,"  de  Baudricourt  replied,  "  that  I 
cannot  do  ;  but,  if  you  wish,  I  will  willingly  take  you 
to  Nancy,  and  lead  you  to  the  Duke,  your  sovereign 
lord  and  mine.  Prepare  yourself  at  once  for  the 
journey." 

Amid  the  tears  and  protests  of  her  parents  and 
her  friends  Jeanne  started,  as  she  was,  upon  her 
eventful  pilgrimage.  At  St.  Nicholas  de  Pont, — a 
little  town  two  leagues  from  Nancy, — she  asked  to  be 
allowed  to  spend  three  hours  in  devotions  in  the 
church.  When  she  reappeared,  her  face  was  wet  with 
tears,  and  her  long  brown  hair  hung  dishevelled  over 
her  shoulders.  She  did  not  seem  to  care.  Her  gaze 
was  heavenward,  and  the  only  words  she  uttered 
were  :  "  En  avant  /"  With  Sieur  Laxaert  was  a 
comrade,  a  young  man,  Jehan  de  Novelonpont,  better 
known  as  Jehan  de  Metz,  of  good  birth  and  knightly 
carriage.  He  offered  Jeanne  his  sword.  She  touched 
the  hilt,  and,  smiling  sadly,  said  :  "  Alas  !  young  sir, 
that  blade  will  be  required  erelong  to  slay  thy 
country's  foes  and  God's."  Thus  they  entered  the 
capital  of  Lorraine. 

Duke  Charles  received  his  strange  visitor  some- 
what reluctantly.  He  was  a  man  of  shrewd  common- 
sense,  intolerant  of  superstition,  and  impatient  of 
feminine  assumptions  —  as  his  consort,  Duchess 
Marguerite,  learnt  to  her  undoing.  He  asked  curtly 
about  her  home  and  her  occult  powers,  and  jokingly 
invoked  her  aid  in  the  cure  of  gout,  to  which  he  was 
martyr,  and  from  which  he  was  then  suffering 
acutely.  "  This,"  said  he,  "  shall  be  the  test  of  your 
pretensions  to  save  France,  Remove  my  pain,  and 


JEANNE  D'ARC  149 

I  will  take  you  to  the  King."  Jeanne  shed  tears, 
and,  straightening  out  her  rough  woolsey  skirt,  she 
looked  sadly  up  to  heaven.  At  last  she  spoke : 
"  Take  me  not,  noble  Duke,  for  a  common  jongleuse. 
First  of  all,  noble  Duke,  I  implore  you  to  become 
reconciled  to  the  Duchess,  your  wife  ;  as  for  me,  I 
am  the  unworthy  instrument  of  God  to  set  King 
Charles  of  France  upon  his  throne  and  to  scatter  his 
enemies."  The  Duke  dismissed  the  maid  with  a 
wave  of  his  hand.  "  Take  her  away,"  he  said  ;  "  be 
kind  to  her ;  maybe  I  will  see  her  again  shortly." 
"  Jeanne,"  he  added,  "  in  a  day  or  two  you  shall  tell 
your  tale  before  some  noble  lords." 

All  over  Lorraine  and  Barrois  internecine  war  was 
rife ;  noble  rose  against  noble,  and  yeoman  and 
peasant  joined  the  fray.  The  most  serious  was  the 
rivalry  of  Rene,  the  young  Duke  of  Bar,  and 
Antoine,  Count  of  Vaudemont,  concerning  the  rights 
of  succession  to  the  dukedom  of  Lorraine.  Metz, 
into  which  de  Vaudemont  had  thrown  himself,  was 
invested  by  the  Barrois  troops,  splendidly  led  by  the 
boy-warrior — he  was  but  twenty  years  of  age.  A 
messenger  from  Charles  requested  a  truce,  and  in- 
vited both  commanders  to  join  him  at  Nancy  to  take 
counsel  with  their  peers  upon  the  strange  claims  of 
a  shepherd-girl  from  Domremy.  With  Duke  Rene" 
rode  a  score  of  knights  and  nobles  ;  Count  Antoine 
was  accompanied  by  a  like  company.  Upon  the  morrow 
of  their  arrival  at  the  capital,  Duke  Charles 
assembled  them  and  others  in  the  great  courtyard 
of  the  castle,  and  sent  for  Jeanne,  who,  still  attired 
in  her  peasant  garb,  knelt  at  his  feet  and  kissed  his 
hand.  Then  she  surveyed  the  assembly  furtively,  as 
though  prepared  for  insult  or  worse,  and  quietly 


150    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

repeated  her  strange  story  amid  general  scoffs  and 
impatience.  One  noble  knight  alone  gave  serious 
heed, — Rene,  Duke  of  Bar.  Duke  Charles  taunted 
her  with  her  inability  to  mount  a  horse,  much  more 
to  lead  an  army. 

"  Jeanne,"  said  he,  "  thou  hast  never  bestridden  a 
charger,  thou  canst  not  bear  a  lance !" 

"  Sire,"  she  replied,  "mount  me,  and  see  if  I 
cannot  both  ride  and  hold  my  own." 

A  quiet  palfrey,  —  the  property  of  Duchess 
Marguerite, — was  led  into  the  courtyard  by  its 
groom,  but  Jeanne  refused  to  mount.  "Give  me," 
she  demanded,  "  the  charger  of  that  Prince  yonder," 
pointing  to  Rene"  of  Sicily-Anjou  and  Bar.  The 
Prince  lifted  her  into  the  saddle,  and  his  gentleness, 
reverence,  and  good  looks,  differentiated  him  from  the 
rest  of  that  knightly  assemblage. 

"  What  is  thy  name,  brave  Prince  ?"  she  asked. 

"  Rene  de  Bar,"  he  said. 

"What!"  the  Maid  replied,  "the  noble  Duke  of 
Bar,  the  gallant  son  of  good  Queen  Yolande  of  Anjou. 
You  shall  be  my  escort  into  France." 

With  that  she  laid  firm  hold  of  the  heavy  lance, 
offered  by  a  young  esquire,  placed  it  correctly  in 
stay,  and  smartly  gathered  up  the  reins.  Saluting 
Dukes  Charles  and  Rene*,  she  drove  the  heels  of  her 
wooden  shoes  into  the  horse's  sides,  and  dashed  round 
and  round  the  courtyard,  the  lance  in  position,  and 
then  out  into  the  open.  Astonishment  marked  each 
noble  countenance,  and  then  loud  applause  greeted 
this  quite  unexpected  display ;  it  enlisted  to  her 
cause  most  of  the  spectators,  who  had  meant  to  cry 
down  the  girl's  ineptitude,  but  now  were  perfectly 
ready  to  follow  her.  With  difficulty  Jeanne  reined 


JEANNE  D'ARC  151 

in  her  mount,  and  slowly  cantered  into  the  courtyard 
again.  Saluting  in  correct  knightly  fashion  the 
Duke,  her  Sovereign,  and  beckoning  Ren6  once  more 
to  her  side,  she  dismounted  with  his  help,  rendered 
up  her  lance,  and  fell  at  Charles's  feet. 

The  Duke  gently  raised  the  palpitating,  girlish 
form,  and  aloud  exclaimed  :  "  May  God  grant  the 
accomplishment  of  thy  desires  !  I  see  thou  hast  both 
courage  and  intelligence."  Jeanne  then  turned  to 
Rene,  and,  laying  her  trembling  hand  upon  his  arm, 
looked  up  innocently  but  intently  with  her  great 
brown  eyes,  into  his  open,  truthful  face,  and  said  : 
"  You,  my  Prince,  will  help  me,  I  am  sure.  There  is 
none  other  here  in  whom  I  know  I  can  put  my  whole 
trust.  You  are  like  the  blessed  Michael  who  speaks 
to  me  and  strengthens  me.  You  are  a  Christian 
knight ;  you  will  lead  me  into  France."  The  Maid's 
partiality  for  Rene  de  Bar  gave  rise,  unworthily,  to 
evil  gossip  with  respect  to  their  mutual  relations. 
She  was  attracted  to  him  by  the  tales  of  the  country- 
side. Domremy  was  so  near  to  the  scenes  of  his 
military  achievements  in  Lorraine  that  news  of  him 
and  his  prowess  affected  greatly  the  younger  folk. 
The  fact  that  he  was  the  husband  of  their  Princess 
Isabelle,  "  the  Pride  of  Lorraine,"  greatly  added  to 
his  local  fame. 

The  noble  company  at  the  castle  moved  into  the 
hall  of  audience,  and  there  Jeanne  laid  before  them 
fully  all  her  loyal  aims — heaven-directed,  as  she  said. 
She  told  them,  too,  the  story  of  the  "  Voices,"  and 
craved  their  assistance  in  her  enterprise.  "  We  will 
traverse  France  together,"  she  exclaimed,  "  until  we 
find  King  Charles.  We  will  crown  him  at  Reims, 
and  we  will  then  cast  out  our  country's  enemies. 


152    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Saints  Michael,  Catherine,  and  Margaret,  will  protect 
us  and  our  homes  !" 

This  amazing  speech  by  a  young  country  girl 
roused  general  enthusiasm,  and  the  mysterious  magic 
of  her  voice  and  manner  disarmed  all  opposition. 
Each  belted  knight  drew  forth  his  steely  blade,  and, 
tossing  it  on  high,  swore  to  be  her  henchman. 
"  Vive  la  nostre  Royne!  d  has  les  Anglois  /"  they  cried 
aloud  together.  These  acclamations  hurtled  stridently 
through  gallery,  way-ward,  and  postern,  and  away 
they  flew  in  increased  volume  past  the  portcullis,  till 
every  citizen  in  Nancy  and  the  labourers  in  the  fields 
around  joined  in  the  ecstatic  chorus  :  "  Vive  la  nostre 
Royne  Jeanne  /"  Rich  and  poor,  noble  and  simple, 
and  the  children,  too,  pressed  into  the  castle  precincts 
to  catch  a  sight  of  the  humble  yet  brave  messenger 
of  God,  and  perchance  to  touch  her  person  or  her 
dress,  seeking  infection  from  the  virtue  and  valour 
which  possessed  her.  Jeanne's  reception  and  recog- 
nition at  Nancy  Castle  attained  the  proportions  of 
a  Bretagne  pardon.  Church-bells  clanged  for  her, 
priests  blessed  her,  and  relics  of  saints  were  exposed 
with  the  Blessed  Sacrament  on  her  behalf. 

Duke  Rene,  on  his  part,  showed  no  hesitation  in 
accepting  the  high  honour  the  inspired  Maid  had 
paid  him.  He  kissed  her  hand,  a  peasant's  hand, — 
strange  act  for  a  royal  knight ! — smitten  with  the 
girl's  piety  and  devotion  ;  he,  too,  was  religiously 
affected.  Jeanne  became  an  heroic  figure  in  his 
estimation.  What  clean-minded  lad  is  there,  or  has 
ever  been,  who  is  not  marvellously  affected  by  a 
handsome,  dashing  girl,  irrespective  of  her  rank  in 
life  ?  What  traces  some  have  seen  of  a  tenderer 
passion  still  than  youthful  admiration  were  surely 


tucr 


c  top  cfi  fo/f-  f, 

Titmice  fi 


Out  Jt  wciuHct jr  Vu 


JEANNE    D'ARC    EXPELLING   GAY   WOMEN   FROM    HER    CAMP 
From  an  Illuminated  MS,      National  Library  of  Paris 


To  fact  page  152 


JEANNE  D1  ARC  153 

hard  to  diagnose    in    that   first   burst   of   emotional 
romance :    it   may   have   bloomed   later,   but   Rent's 
heart  was  in    the  safe-keeping   of   Isabelle.     Times 
and    manners   then   lent  colour    to    the   insinuation, 
possibly,  for   love  and  lovers   were  freer  then  than 
now    from    social    conventions.      Rene*   departed   for 
Bar-le-Duc,  to  prepare  for  the  expedition.    He  gave 
immediate  orders  to  raise  the  siege  of  three  fortresses, 
Metz,  Ve'zelise,  and  Vaudemont,  and,  calling  off  the 
troops  encamped  there,  he  returned  quickly  to  Nancy, 
to  escort  Jeanne  to  the  King  of  France.      He  found 
her  arrayed  in  quasi-armour,  with  spurs  on  her  mailed 
boots ;  her  head  alone  was  uncovered,  save  for  the 
glory  of  her  abundant   hair.      She  wore  a   sash   of 
white    silk,   the    gift    of  Duchess   Marguerite ;    her 
horse,  too,  had  white  silken  favours.      The  cavalcade 
started    from   the   castle,   Rene    and    Jeanne    riding 
side  by  side  in  front.      Through  byways  they  went, 
— an  ever-increasing  host  of  armed  men  and  camp- 
followers,  —  avoiding    notice    as    best    they    could, 
marching   by  night,   resting    by   day,   to   avoid    the 
scattered  bands  of  English  foemen. 

The  pilgrimage, — for  such  it  really  was, — partook 
not  only  of  a  religious  and  a  warlike  character, — for 
Jeanne  insisted  on  attending  Mass  en  route,  and 
prevailed  upon  her  escort  to  say  their  daily  prayers, 
— but  it  exhibited  elements  of  gaiety  ;  with  Duke 
Rene*  rode  a  company  of  minstrels,  with  Jehan 
Durant  of  Bar  as  their  leader.  To  him  Rene  paid 
30  gold  florins  a  month — "  to  make  warlike  melody 
for  keeping  up  my  men's  brave  hearts,"  he  said. 
At  Troyes,  Jeanne  and  her  escort  were  received 
rapturously  ;  the  Bishop  placed  in  her  hand  a  white 
silken  oriflamme,  a  banner  made  by  ladies  of  the  city, 


154     RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

and  censed  and  blessed  her,  and  so  they  won  their 
way  to  Tours. 

Before  entering  that  ancient  loyal  city, — under 
the  special  charge  of  the  holy  warrior  St.  Martin, — 
Jeanne  requested  Rene  to  send  to  the  neighbouring 
village  of  Fierbois,  and  "  ask  the  cure"  of  the  Church 
of  St.  Catherine  for  a  sword  which  hangs,"  she  said, 
"  over  the  high-altar."  It  was  a  famous  weapon, 
although  the  doughty  knight  whose  it  had  been  was 
unremembered.  The  blade  was  of  finely  tempered 
steel,  and  richly  damascened  with  golden  crosses  and 
silver  lilies  —  the  emblems  of  Jeanne's  spiritual 
sponsors.  The  sword  itself,  in  size  and  shape,  was 
like  St.  Michael's  own.  She  told  Rene  that  the 
"Voices"  had  revealed  this  relic  to  her,  and  had 
bidden  her  hang  it  on  her  hip.  At  Tours,  also,  Rene 
had  news  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  King,  who,  sad 
to  say,  was  a  fugitive  in  and  out  of  his  own  dominions 
and  those  of  his  neighbours.  Charles  VII.  was  at 
Chinon,  safe  in  its  majestic  castle — much  like  that  of 
Windsor  in  extent,  position,  and  distinction. 

It  came  certainly  as  a  grievous  shock  to  all  that 
enthusiastic  expedition  to  find  the  King,  — "  poor  as 
a  church  mouse  and  defenceless  as  a  rabbit," — 
engaged  in  frivolities  and  excesses.  The  Court  at 
Chinon  was  the  maddest  and  the  merriest  in  France. 
Duke  Ren6,  true  to  his  promise,  at  once  sought  out 
the  King,  and  arranged  an  interview  with  the  Maid 
of  Domremy,  although  His  Majesty  at  first  refused 
"  to  be  troubled  with  a  country  wench."  The  meet- 
ing was  held  in  the  Grand  Logis  of  the  enceinte  of 
the  Chateau  du  Milieu.  Chinon,  indeed,  had  three 
castles  connected  with  one  another  :  The  Chateau  de 
St.  Georges  was  a  sort  of  advanced  fortress,  built 


JEANNE  D'ARC  155 

by  Henri  Plantagenet  (Henry  II.  of  England)  in  the 
twelfth  century,  but  greatly  dilapidated  300  years 
later  ;  the  Chateau  du  Milieu,  the  most  important 
part  of  Chinon,  contained  the  royal  apartments  ;  and 
the  Chateau  de  Coudray,  the  most  ancient,  dating 
from  the  time  of  the  heroic  Thibaut  le  Tricheur, 
early  in  the  tenth  century.  Henry  II.  died  in 
the  Grand  Logis,  where  King  Charles  VII.  had 
his  temporary  residence.  In  the  Salle  du  Trone, 
with  its  vast  chimney-piece  of  sculptured  stone  and 
its  famous  painted  windows,  the  King  summoned 
his  courtiers,  and,  disguised  as  an  ordinary  noble  of 
the  Court,  he  mingled  with  them,  giving  out  as  his 
reason  that  he  should  "  test  the  wench's  power  of 
divination.  If  she  picks  me  out  at  once,  then  I  will 
hear  what  she  has  to  say  ;  if  not,  I  won't  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  her." 

Jeanne  was  brought  into  the  splendid  apartment, 
filled  with  the  pageantry  of  France,  and  dazzling 
enough  to  have  disturbed  any  ordinary  girl's  equa- 
nimity. She  made,  taught  by  Rene,  an  obeisance 
to  the  empty  throne,  and  then  he  told  her  she  must 
find  the  King  among  the  company.  Without  a 
moment's  hesitation  she  went  straight  up  to  the 
Sovereign  incognito,  bowed  low,  and  said  softly : 
"  Sire,  you  are  Charles  the  Dauphin."  Very  much 
astonished  by  Jeanne's  appearance  and  demeanour, 
and  still  more  by  her  certainty  as  to  his  identity, 
Charles  acknowledged  himself,  and,  leading  the 
unabashed  damsel  with  Rene  aside  into  the  em- 
brasure of  a  window,  he  asked  her  to  give  him  her 
message.  This  Jeanne  did  with  candour  and  em- 
phasis, and  furthermore  astounded  "  the  Dauphin," 
as  she  persisted  in  calling  him, — he  had  not  been 


156     RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

crowned  King,  of  course, — by  "  revealing,"  as  he  told 
Rene  afterwards,  "  certain  secrets  known  only  to 
myself  and  God."  What  these  "  secrets  "  were  has 
puzzled  curious  inquirers.  Probably  they  concerned 
happenings  during  the  King's  youth,  and  affected  the 
question  of  his  legitimacy.  He,  too,  was  at  one 
time  proposed  as  the  husband  of  the  "  Pride  of 
Lorraine,"  the  heiress  Isabelle.  Anyhow,  as  known 
to  Jeanne  d'Arc,  they  were  the  usual  exaggerations 
of  Court  and  country  gossip.  Kings,  knights,  and 
ladies,  and  their  doings,  ever  cause  peasants  topics 
for  discussion. 

"  Gentle  Dauphin,"  the  Maid  said,  "  I  am  sent  to 
you  to  tell  you  that  you  shall  be  crowned  at  Reims." 
The  Court  was  divided  ;  part  held  with  la  Tremouille, 
the  Chancellor,  against  Jeanne's  pretensions,  some 
of  the  baser  sort  attempted  to  make  sport  of  her 
rusticity,  but  the  majority  sided  with  Duke  Rene, 
who  was  now  more  than  ever  impressed  with  the 
bearing  of  his  "  Queen." 

II. 

All  sorts  of  plans  were  propounded  to  test  the 
virtue  and  the  devotion  of  the  young  Domremy 
shepherdess.  Rene  and  those  of  his  following 
denounced  most  of  them  as  indecent  and  prepos- 
terous, but  he  allowed  two  inquiries  to  be  instituted  : 
one  with  reference  to  Jeanne's  orthodoxy  in  religion, 
and  the  other  with  respect  to  her  personal  chastity. 
The  King  approved  both  these  expedients,  and 
confided  to  Rene", — youth  though  he  was, — their 
superintendence  and  execution. 

Still  acting  as  Jeanne's  escort,  Rene  took  her  and 


JEANNE  D'ARC  157 

a  number  of  Court  chaplains,  together  with  the 
worthy  Cure  of  Domremy  and  Sieur  Laxaert, — both  of 
whom  had  been  sent  for  from  Lorraine, — to  Poitiers, 
for  examination  by  a  special  conclave  of  Bishops  and 
theologians.  Poitiers  was  famous  for  its  divinity 
schools  and  its  Ecole  de  Droit,  wherein  thousands 
of  students  were  instructed  in  doctrinal  matters  and 
subjects  of  metaphysical  science.  The  Holy  See 
had  there  an  office  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites 
and  a  permanent  secretariate  of  hagiology.  The 
quaint  old  capital  of  Poitou  was  also  renowned 
for  the  shrine  of  St.  Radegonde,  which  attracted 
annually  vast  numbers  of  pilgrims  to  kiss  Le  Pas 
de  Dieu,  Christ's  footprints,  where  he  stood  com- 
muning with  his  gentle  servant.  Radegonde  and 
Jeanne  had  ground  for  mutual  sympathy.  Perhaps 
Jeanne  knew  the  story  of  her  prototype. 

Do  what  they  would,  the  holy  men  of  Poitiers 
could  not  make  Jeanne  deviate  ever  so  little  from 
the  thread  of  her  story.  "  The  Voices,"  she  said, 
"  speak  to  me  daily,  and  I  feel  that  my  three  saints 
are  with  me  constantly."  She  answered  all  their 
questions  fearlessly,  and  very  greatly  were  they 
impressed  by  her  sincerity  and  amazed  at  her  know- 
ledge of  divinity.  No  flaw  was  to  be  discovered  in 
her  orthodoxy,  nor  did  she  yield  at  all  to  insinuations 
of  witchcraft.  Indeed,  the  whole  assembly  was 
affected  by  her  religious  enthusiasm,  and  a  careful 
precis  was  preserved  of  all  that  transpired  during 
the  examination.  This  was,  in  truth,  the  first  step 
to  the  beatification  of  St.  Jeanne  d'Arc. 

Returning  to  Chinon,  the  Maid  awaited  her 
second  ordeal — the  inquisition  by  a  panel  of  matrons. 
This  delicate  business  was  taken  in  hand  by  Queen 


158    REN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Yolande  and  certain  ladies  well  known  for  probity 
and  prudence.  Jeanne  submitted  herself  gladly 
enough  to  the  "  good  mother "  of  her  true  knight, 
Rene  d'Anjou  and  Bar.  They  speedily  reached  a 
decision  respecting  the  character  of  the  Maid  of 
Domremy.  Emphatically  they  repudiated  all  sug- 
gestions of  immorality,  and  declared  that  Jeanne 
d'Arc  was  a  virgo  intacta,  "  as  chaste  in  mind  and 
body  as  the  Holy  Virgin  herself."  "  La  Pucelle,"  as 
they  styled  her,  "  is,"  they  affirmed,  "  a  child  of  God, 
the  peculiar  charge  of  St.  Catherine  and  St.  Margaret, 
whose  saintly  virtues  she  desires  to  cultivate.  She 
is  no  witch,  nor  in  the  pay  of  any  evil-minded  persons. 
She  is  directly  inspired  by  God,  and  St.  Michael 
is  her  protector." 

This  testimony  Queen  Yolande  delivered  personally 
to  King  Charles,  and  persuaded  him  to  see  the 
Maid  once  more  and  converse  more  fully  with  her. 
The  result  of  this  intercourse  was  amazing  :  Charles 
became  another  man.  The  persuasions  of  his  faithful 
and  devout  consort,  Queen  Marie,  had  completely 
failed  to  rouse  him,  and  the  exhortations  of  Queen 
Yolande  had  no  more  than  excited  his  curiosity,  but 
the  village  maid  from  Lorraine  succeeded  in  inspiring 
the  trifling,  inept  Sovereign  with  new  life  and  energy. 
He  sent  for  Rene,  and  named  him  his  lieutenant, 
and  recommitted  " La  Pucelle"  to  his  care.  With 
the  young  Duke  was  his  trusty  friend  and  Mentor, 
Armaund  Barbazan,  one  of  the  most  perfect  soldiers 
and  gentlemen  in  France,  the  precursor  of  another 
knight  "  sans  peur  et  sans  reproche "  —  Bayart. 
Together  they  elaborated  a  plan  of  campaign  which 
would  be  in  obedience  to  the  mysterious  "  Voices " 
of  "La  Pucelle."  This  they  submitted  to  la  Tre- 


JEANNE  D'ARC  159 

mouille,  Dunois,  "  le  Batard,"  and  La  Hire,  Charles's 
trusted  counsellors.  It  was  the  latter,  probably,  who 
uttered  that  veiled  rebuke  to  the  King  :  "  Sire,  I 
never  knew  any  Prince  so  happy  in  his  losses  as 
you  1" 

These  sapient  commanders  agreed  that  the  first 
move  in  the  new  operations  was  the  raising  of  the 
siege  of  Orleans.  The  King  acquiesced ;  he,  too, 
had  done  his  part,  for  he  had,  upon  his  own  initiative, 
detached  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  from  his  alliance 
with  the  English,  and  had  thus  very  materially 
prepared  the  way  to  Reims  and  his  coronation. 
Jeanne  d'Arc  was,  of  course,  apprised  of  this  decision, 
and  she  was  asked  what  part  she  proposed  to  take. 
After  a  night-long  vigil  in  the  grand  old  ^church  of 
St.  Maurice,  where  she  held  communion  with  the 
"Voices,"  she  told  Rene  that  she  should  be  by  his 
side  "as  leader  of  the  vanguard." 

The  Maid  had  done  very  much  upon  the  forced 
march  from  Nancy  to  Chinon  to  reform  the  discipline 
and  the  freedom  of  the  soldiers.  She  forbade  swear- 
ing and  the  use  of  strong  drink.  Gambling  of  every 
kind,  and  resort  to  fortune-telling  mummers,  she 
penalized,  as  well  as  every  other  illicit  distraction. 
She  expelled  in  person  les  files  de  joie — the  gay 
women  who  hung  upon  the  fringe  of  the  army  and 
demoralized  both  officers  and  men.  Daily  she  insisted 
upon  Mass  being  celebrated  on  the  field  of  march, 
and  moved  each  man  to  offer  his  own  orisons  upon 
his  bended  knee.  Among  her  immediate  attendants 
were  priests  and  acolytes — strange  comrades,  perhaps, 
for  Duke  Rene's  minstrels ;  but,  then,  the  two  cults, 
— Religion  and  Chivalry, — were  ever  in  intimate 

affinity :    all-honoured    Blessed   Mary   first,  and   the 

11 


160    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

saints  of  God,  and  all  respected  the  persons  of  the 
weaker  sex  around  them. 

It  was  a  well-found,  well-disciplined,  and  well-led 
army  that  left  the  sheltering  battlements  of  Chinon 
on  April  29,  1429 — it  was  a  momentous  move. 
Some  in  river  barges,  some  in  saddle,  some  afoot, 
traversed  the  lovely  spring-smiling  valley  of  the 
Loire.  Forest  echoes  were  awakened  and  church- 
bells  set  chiming  in  response  to  holy  litanies  of 
Church  and  lilting  songs  of  chivalry.  Peasants  put 
lighted  candles  on  the  lintels  of  doors  and  windows 
of  their  rude  hovels ;  every  castle  and  manoir  dis- 
played their  banners  and  boomed  their  guns  en  route. 
In  the  churches  the  Host  was  exposed  on  decorated 
altars,  and  Miserere  sung. 

Before  bidding  farewell  to  King  Charles,  La 
Pucelle,  —  fully  armed,  cap-a-pie,  in  burnished  steel 
armour  of  Zaragoza  damascened  with  gold,  wherein 
she  had  been  clothed  by  Queen  Yolande's  royal 
hands, — took  her  place  upon  the  foot-pace  of  the 
high-altar  of  St.  Maurice.  She  placed  her  white 
oriflamme  and  her  crimson- sheathed  sword  of  Fierbois 
upon  the  sacred  stone  for  episcopal  benediction,  and 
then,  dedicating  her  mission  and  herself  once  more 
solemnly  to  the  God  of  battles,  assumed  her  trophy 
and  her  weapon.  Led  by  Rene,  she  slowly  passed 
down  the  nave  of  the  grand  old  church,  and  out  by 
the  great  portal,  whence,  mounting  her  strong  white 
charger,  she  rode  off  amid  enthusiastic  plaudits  and 
many  hearty  prayers,  to  put  herself  at  the  head  of 
the  French  host,  and  thus  awaited  the  signal  to 
advance. 

What  a  thrilling  scene  it  must  have  been ! 
Nothing  in  modern  warfare  could  ever  equal  in 


JEANNE    D'ARC    AT    THE    SIEGE    OF    ORLEANS 
From  a  Fresco  by  E.  Lepenveu.      Pantheon.  Paris 


To  .face  page  100 


JEANNE  D'ARC  161 

circumstance  and  emotion  that  pageant  pilgrimage. 
It  was  the  last  hope  of  France  going  forth  to 
conquer  or  to  die.  led  by  a  young  shepherd-girl  and 
a  youthful  royal  knight.  La  Pucelle's  absolute 
reliance  on  the  help  of  God,  her  remarkable  courage, 
and  the  spell  she  had  cast  over  the  King,  his  army, 
and  his  Court,  were  all  rendered  more  convincing  to 
the  common  mind  by  the  magic  of  her  personal 
appearance.  She  was  hailed  as  "  Nostre  Royne  en 
blanche!"  The  bright  sun  shone  upon  her  resplen- 
dent white  armour,  and  the  sharp  breeze  unfurled 
her  snow-white  banner  ;  her  white  charger,  too, 
enhanced  the  tout  ensemble.  She  rode  the  most 
conspicuous  object  in  that  dazzling  cavalcade,  and  no 
wonder  her  followers  regarded  her  as  almost  super- 
natural. 

At  Tours  and  at  Blois  "  Stations  "  were  made  for 
absolution,  and  from  the  latter  place  Jeanne  caused 
Rene,  in  her  name,  to  write  an  ultimatum  to  the 
Duke  of  Bedford,  the  English  Regent  of  France  and 
Generalissimo  of  the  English  army.  She  ordered 
him  and  his  co-commanders  to  cease  devastating  fair 
France,  sorely  stricken  as  she  was,  and  to  avoid  the 
clash  of  arms  by  retiring  before  her  Heaven-directed 
forces.  "  Thou  hast  had,"  she  said,  "  noble  Duke, 
thy  fill  of  human  bleed.  Seek  now  the  Divine 
pardon,  for  nothing  shall  stay  me  till  I  have  planted 
my  banner  upon  the  walls  of  Orleans.  Give  back  to 
me  the  keys  of  all  the  towns  you  have  seized,  destroy 
no  more  property,  repent  and  retire." 

Alas  for  human  foresight !  human  quarrels  mar 
heroic  achievements  :  la  Tremouille,  Dunois,  and 
La  Hire  were  not  at  one  with  one  another — each 
sought  his  own  ;  but  that  being  impossible,  all  three 


162    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

determined  that  they  would  master  Rene",  Barbazan, 
and  Jeanne.  La  Pucelle  had  made  up  her  mind 
to  approach  Orleans  from  the  right  bank  of  the 
Loire ;  but  her  rivals  led  their  troops  to  the  other 
side,  whence  the  fortifications  could  only  be  reached 
by  crossing  the  impregnable  bridge  or  by  boat. 
Jeanne,  however,  was  not  to  be  denied,  and  she 
determined  to  make  an  assault  at  once  and  at  all 
costs.  Seeing  herself  misled,  she  summoned  Rene 
once  more  for  council,  and  Guy  de  Laval,  a  young 
knight, — second  only  to  Rene  in  devotion  to  La 
Pucelle, — joined  the  deliberations.  A  storming- 
party  was  chosen, — regardless  of  the  opposition  of 
the  three  churlish  commanders, — and  Jeanne  put 
herself  at  its  head  without  any  hesitation.  Confi- 
dence and  enthusiasm  prevailed  :  Jeanne  stood  upon 
the  broken  bridge  whilst  Rene  and  Guy  hammered 
at  the  portcullis ;  and  thus  upon  May  8  Orleans 
was  captured.  Among  the  wounded  was  the  Maid 
herself,  not  severely,  to  be  sure,  but  the  sight  of  her 
blood  lent  frenzied  prowess  to  her  soldiery.  With 
her  escort  she  rode  through  the  streets  crowded  with 
famished,  suffering  people,  who  blessed, — nay,  almost 
worshipped, — her.  She  halted  at  the  cathedral  of 
Sainte  Croix,  and  held  communion  with  the  "  Voices," 
and  then  she  went  to  rest  awhile  in  the  humble  abode 
of  Sieur  Jacques  Bouchier,  an  honest  citizen  attached 
to  the  suite  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  Rene  lodged 
at  the  ducal  palace. 

The  English  withdrew  to  Paris,  where  a  truce  was 
agreed  to  by  Louis,  Cardinal  de  Bar,  in  the  name 
of  his  nephew,  Duke  Rene — a  very  singular  arrange- 
ment, but  it  was  the  efficient  cause  of  a  general  sus- 
pension of  hostilities.  Charles  VII.  called  a  council 


JEANNE  D'ARC  168 

of  war  at  Blois,  which  decided  that,  as  the  way  was 
now  absolutely  open,  La  Pucelle  should  fulfil  her 
mysterious  but  triumphant  mission  by  conducting 
"  the  Dauphin  "  to  his  coronation. 

A  great  wave  of  patriotism  swept  over  France. 
Men  asked  one  another  whether  this  was  not  the 
prelude  to  deliverance  from  300  years  of  foreign 
aggression,  and  the  first  step  towards  the  reforma- 
tion of  civil  disorder.  Charles  rose  to  his  magnificent 
opportunity,  and  rallied  all  the  French  Sovereigns  in 
a  league  of  peace  and  stability.  Even  the  implacable 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  hated  Rene"  de  Bar  and 
Charles  de  Lorraine  irreconcilably,  was  minded  to 
join  in  the  general  rapprochement.  La  Pucelle 
dictated  a  letter  to  him,  conjuring  him  to  renounce 
his  petty  jealousies  for  the  love  of  Christ  and 
St.  Mary,  to  make  his  peace  complete  with  King 
Charles  of  France,  and  to  turn  his  hand  against  the 
common  enemy.  "  Come,"  she  said,  "  with  us  to 
Reims,  there  to  cement  the  good-will  of  all  good  men 
in  France."  The  Duke  actually  made  some  prepara- 
tions for  the  journey,  but  at  the  eleventh  hour  pride 
got  the  better  of  his  reason,  and  his  hand  never 
grasped  those  of  his  brother  Sovereigns  nor  that 
of  La  Pucelle.  Notwithstanding  all  France  was 
en  route  to  Reims  that  July,  attracted  magnet-like 
by  the  Maid's  white  steel  mail  and  oriflamme. 

The  Cathedral  of  Reims,  —  whose  marvellous 
"  Glory  of  Mary "  over  the  great  western  portal 
Viollet  le  Due  called  "  the  most  splendid  piece  of 
Gothic  architecture  in  the  world," — had  been  the 
coronation  theatre  of  all  the  Kings  of  France  since 
Henry  I.  in  1027  ;  but  no  such  ceremony  had 
equalled  in  interest  and  in  grandeur  that  of  July  17, 


164    RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

1429.  The  summer  sun  awoke  betimes  the  loyal 
citizens  and  the  thousands  of  strangers  within  their 
gates ;  the  genial  morning  breeze  ruffled  out  gay 
banners  and  pageant  garlands  which  decorated 
lavishly  each  house  and  street,  and  soon  the  world 
and  his  wife  were  on  foot  to  the  cathedral. 

There  was  certainly  very  much  more  than  a  mere 
suspicion  of  Jin  bouquet  in  that  fresh  morning  air ; 
each  worthy  had  filled  his  flask  with  generous  vin  de 
la  montaigne,  with  which  to  quaff  jovially  the  good 
healths  of  Charles  and  Jeanne  and  Rene,  inseparable 
in  the  popular  mind.  "  Le  Roy,  La  Pucelle,  et  le 
preux  Cavalier" — that  was  the  toast. 

What  a  motley  crowd  it  was  !  Some,  too,  of  the 
hated  English  were  there,  courageously  incognito ; 
but,  then,  Reims  was  quite  as  cosmopolitan  in  the 
fifteenth  century  as  she  is  in  the  twentieth,  with  her 
30,000  Yorkshire  and  Worcestershire  wool- weavers. 
Probably,  however,  no  forced  Yorkshire  rhubarb 
found  its  way  then,  as  now,  into  the  vats  of  the 
vintners  1 

It  was  a  well-dressed  crowd,  for  St.  Frisette, — 
one  of  the  patrons  of  the  city, — has  all  along  had 
her  devotees,  and  no  coiffeurs  are  so  famous  as  those 
of  her  romantic  cult.  Indeed,  her  influence  in  fashion 
is  for  ever  memoralized  by  the  costumes  and  head- 
gear, correctly  chiselled,  of  the  statues  of  the 
cathedral. 

Saints,  prophets,  kings,  and  queens,  in  stone,  high 
up  in  the  galleries  of  the  exterior  of  the  cathedral, 
looked  down  approvingly,  or  the  reverse,  upon  the 
rare  show  and  its  spectators.  The  gargoyles  of 
Reims  were  ever  famous  for  their  unusual  benignity. 
They  were  all  animation  and  sparkled  in  the  sun- 


JEANNE  D'ARC  165 

shine ;  merriment  became  emphatic  within  the 
floriated  arches  of  the  buttresses.  In  each  a  laugh- 
ing angel  in  stone  was  exercising  her  witchery  and 
adding  heavenly  hilarity  to  the  general  good-humour. 
The  whole  sacred  building  was  enfdte;  it  is  still  the 
merriest  building  in  Christendom  ;  its  sculptured 
stones  have  imbibed  the  effervescence  of  rare  cham- 
pagne for  centuries  ! 

Within  the  sacred  building  all  was  solemn  and 
restrained.  Resplendent  gem-like  glass  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  skilfully  leaded  in  the  clerestory 
windows  of  the  nave,  produced  a  chiaroscuro  of 
scintillating  coloured  light,  wherein  the  spirits  of 
the  mighty  and  the  beauteous  dead  were  mustering 
to  take,  unseen,  their  sympathetic  parts  in  the 
gorgeous  functions  of  the  day.  Freshly- worked 
tapestries,  covering  the  aisle  walls,  shared  with  the 
vitreous  glories  the  telling  of  pageant  stories  of 
religion  and  romance. 

The  "  Sacre"  or  coronation,  of  King  Charles  was 
an  unique  ceremonial.  Supported  upon  either  hand 
by  the  most  distinguished  Sovereign  Princes  of 
France, — Louis  III.,  King  of  Sicily  and  Duke  of 
Anjou,  and  his  brother  Rene,  Duke  of  Barrois  and 
heir-consort  of  Lorraine, — he  passed  majestically  up 
the  nave  under  the  heavy  golden  canopy  of  state. 
Another  Anjou  Prince,  Charles,  Duke  of  Maine, 
nephew  of  Louis  and  Rene,  bore  the  monarch's  train 
— his  cousins  all.  The  Grand  Peers,  with  one 
exception,  Burgundy,  marched  alongside  in  sovereign 
dignity  and  pride.  Strange  it  was  that  no  royal 
ladies  graced  the  auspicious  sacring.  Queen  Marie 
bore  no  part ;  she,  indeed,  remained  at  Bourges,  and 
recited  her  "  Hours "  in  solitude.  Neither  Queen 


166    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Yolande  of  Sicily- Anjou  nor  Duchess  Isabelle  of  Bar- 
Lorraine  was  present,  but  the  place  of  First  Lady 
was,  for  all  that,  occupied  by  a  "  Queen,"  the  Queen 
of  the  coronation — "  la  Royne  blanche — Jeanne." 
Such  a  "  Queen  "  had  never  stood  beside  a  Sovereign 
kneeling  for  his  crown  before  the  high-altar  of 
Reims.  The  fabled  fame  of  saintly  Queen  Clotilde 
paled  before  the  brilliant  triumph  of  plain  Jeanne 
d'Arc.  How  she  bore  herself  in  this  her  hour  of 
miraculous  victory,  and  what  part  she  took  in  the 
stately  ceremonial,  historians  have  scantily  related, 
and  painters  only  imaginatively  recorded  :  no  precis 
has  come  down  to  us,  no  artist  made  a  sketch  upon 
the  spot. 

Immediately  after  the  King  and  his  royal  sup- 
porters walked  with  dignity  La  Pucelle,  in  her 
flashing  white  armour.  In  her  right  hand  she  bore, 
at  the  salute,  the  crimson-sheathed  sword  of  St. 
Catherine  of  Fierbois.  Her  head  was  bare,  save 
for  her  lustrous  locks  of  hair  ;  but  some  pious  souls 
thought  they  saw  a  saint's  nimbus  around  her  brow  ; 
it  was,  perhaps,  a  ring  of  sunny  halo — a  reflection 
from  her  mail  of  steel,  or  a  coronal  of  coloured  glories 
shot  through  the  stained-glass  windows.  By  the 
Maid's  side  marched  her  young  and  true  esquire, 
Louis  de  Contes,  bearing  unfurled  her  magic 
oriflamme. 

It  was  said  that  Jeanne  had  not  intended  to  take 
any  part  in  the  actual  coronation  of  her  Sovereign  ; 
it  was  quite  enough  for  her  that  Charles  and  she 
had  entered  Reims  together.  She  was  resting 
quietly  and  prayerfully,  communing  with  her  patron 
saints,  and  listening,  as  was  her  daily  wont,  of  course, 
to  the  "  Voices,"  within  her  modest  chamber  in  the 


JEANNE  D'ARC  167 

humble  hostelry, — now  the  Maison  Rouge, — where 
her  parents  from  Domremy  had  put  up,  when  Rene" 
and  a  Sovereign's  escort  clattered  up  to  the  door  and 
commanded  in  the  King's  name  the  Maid's  presence 
within  the  cathedral.  At  once  she  donned  her 
armour,  and,  giving  Rene"  her  hand,  she  walked  with 
him  across  the  cathedral  place  to  where  the  King 
was  awaiting  her. 

"The  people,"  it  is  recorded,  "looked  on  with 
awe  and  wonder.  Thus  had  actually  come  to  pass 
the  fantastic  vision  that  floated  before  the  eyes  of 
the  young  village  girl  of  Domremy,  and  had  thrilled 
all  France."  When  La  Pucelle  had  taken  up  her 
station  on  the  royal  dais,  she  grasped  her  white 
silken  banner  in  her  right  hand,  saying  to  those 
around  her :  "  This  oriflamme  hath  shared  the 
dangers :  it  has  a  right  to  the  glories !"  That 
ensign  of  victory  still  towers  up  aloft  in  the  nave  of 
Reims  Cathedral,  above  the  very  spot  where  Jeanne 
stood  and  Charles  was  crowned — an  abiding  mascot 
of  faith  and  chivalry.  We  may  well  imagine  the 
heroine  casting  her  eyes  over  that  splendid  temple  of 
God  and  its  occupants,  and  resting  at  last  mes- 
merically  upon  the  glorified  figures  of  her  three 
beloved  holy  ones  beaming  down  upon  her  from  the 
choirs  of  saints  in  the  clerestory  windows.  St. 
Michael,  St.  Catherine,  and  St.  Margaret,  were  all 
there,  and  their  Master,  too,  for  out  and  away  from 
the  empyreal  realm,  and  beyond  the  burning  sun 
of  heaven,  for  the  coronation  of  Charles  VII.  of 
France  at  Reims  was  the  apotheosis  of  Jeanne  d'Arc 
of  Domremy.  "  The  glory  of  God,"  as  some  said 
who  saw  her,  "  there  transformed  the  village  maid  into 
a  bride  of  Christ  " — a  substantial  Queen  of  Heaven. 


168    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Immediately  after  the  anointing,  the  coronation, 
and  the  other  ritual  acts,  were  complete,  Jeanne 
knelt  down  before  her  King,  her  eyes  brimful  of 
tears,  and  said  softly  to  him :  "  Gentle  King,  now 
is  fulfilled  the  pleasure  of  God.  I  pray  you  thank 
Him  humbly  with  me,  and  let  us  thank,  too,  the 
good  saints  Michael,  Catherine,  and  Margaret,  who 
have  so  wonderfully  aided  us.  Now  my  mission  to 
you,  my  King,  is  fulfilled,  I  pray  you  release  me, 
that  I  may  depart  with  my  parents  to  my  simple 
home.  One  thing  only  I  crave :  it  is  that  my 
beloved  village  shall  be  free  for  ever  from  taxation, 
and  that  their  land  and  tenements  shall  be  retained 
by  my  people.  Sire,  I  bid  you  farewell." 

A  few  days  subsequent  to  the  coronation,  Charles 
held  a  council  of  war  at  Reims  to  decide  the  plan 
of  operations  against  the  enemies  of  France,  and 
he  again  sent  Rene  to  the  Maid's  lodging  to  bid  her 
attend.  "  You  have,"  said  the  King  to  Jeanne, 
"  not  yet  quite  fulfilled  the  task  you  set  yourself. 
The  English  still  possess  our  gates.  I  need  your 
presence  and  your  services  to  rid  France  of  her  foes." 
The  Maid,  sad  at  heart  that  more  bloodshed  had  to 
deluge  the  soil  of  the  devastated  land,  had  no  choice 
but  to  resume  her  martial  garb,  and  once  more  to 
mount  her  war-steed.  The  council  was  divided  in 
opinion :  some  agreed  with  la  Tremouille,  Dunois, 
and  La  Hire,  and  others  sided  with  Rene  and 
Barbazan, — with  them  was  Jeanne, — and  they  pre- 
vailed. An  advance  in  force  on  Paris  was  the  order 
of  the  day.  Upon  August  13  Rene",  with  Jeanne, 
led  the  vanguard  of  the  King's  forces  across  the 
Marne.  At  Montpiloir  a  pitched  battle  was  fought, 
wherein  Jeanne  wrought  terror  in  the  breast  of 


THE    CORONATION    OF    KING    CHARLES    VII.    AT    REIMS    CATHEDRAL 

From  a  Fresco  by  E.  Lepenveu.       Pantheon,  Paris 

To  face  page  16S 


JEANNE  D'ARC  169 

superstitious  foemen,  and  Rene  covered  himself  with 
glory.  The  pick  of  the  English  army,  under  the 
Regent  himself,  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  was  worsted, 
after  knightly  encounters  of  noble  champions  and 
prodigies  of  valour  on  both  sides  had  been  keenly 
scored.  Wherever  the  white  oriflamme  of  La 
Pucelle  chanced  to  be  advanced,  there  was  panic  ; 
the  English  regarded  her  as  a  supernatural  being 
whom  no  human  bravery  could  withstand.  Defeat 
became  a  rout,  and  ten  days  after  leaving  Reims 
the  victorious  French  army  followed  Jeanne  and 
Rene*  into  St.  Denis  and  recovered  the  royal 
sepulchres. 

Next  to  popular  and  soldierly  estimation  of  the 
heroism  of  La  Pucelle,  was  universal  admiration 
for  the  courage  and  resourcefulness  of  the  young 
Duke  de  Barrois.  He  with  his  brother,  King  Louis 
of  Sicily,  were  also  the  champions  of  the  knightly 
"  Lists,"  although  Jeanne  had  prayed  her  warrior  not 
to  risk  his  neck  in  such  encounters.  Rene,  indeed, 
was  the  hero,  as  Jeanne  was  the  heroine,  of  that 
wonderful  campaign.  Only  half  the  truth  was  told 
of  his  abilities  in  that  saying  of  the  Maid  :  "  Rene  de 
Bar  is  worth  more  than  a  squadron  of  cavalry  !" 

During  these  sanguinary  operations  two  royal 
ladies,  each  in  her  castle  boudoir, — at  Angers  and 
at  Nancy, — were  devoured  with  anxiety  and  appre- 
hension :  the  mother  and  the  wife  of  Rene — "  good  " 
Queen  Yolande  and  "  fair  "  Duchess  Isabelle.  Their 
part  was  to  watch  and  pray,  for  each  was  exercising 
a  lieutenant-generalcy  for  her  absent  hero.  Very  well 
could  they  each  have  donned  their  coats  of  mail,  like 
Jeanne  d'Arc,  for  each  was  to  the  manner  born  ;  but 
the  closer  ties  and  dearer  of  motherhood  could  not  be 


170    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

renounced.  Queen  Marie  also  played  nobly  the 
woman's  part ;  she  had  her  family  cares  also,  and, 
now  that  her  consort  was  like  a  lion  roused,  her  tact 
and  love  had  much  to  do  to  restrain  his  ardour. 
Charles  was  not  a  soldier  born,  nor  had  he  been 
trained  in  military  command,  so  his  presence  in  the 
field  was  fraught  with  risk  and  danger ;  his  forte  was 
in  reserve.  Whilst  Marie  grasped  the  bridle  of  his 
charger,  Agnes  Sorel  loosened  the  girdle  of  his  mail, 
and  he  quietly  reposed  at  Loches. 

La  Pucelle  now  assumed  another  r61e.  By 
heavenly  advice  she  had  been  content  to  guide  the 
destiny  of  Charles ;  now  her  "  Voices "  bade  her 
command  in  person  the  army  of  France  against 
the  foe.  The  experienced  military  leaders,  one  and 
all,  were  discounted,  and  on  September  8  she  took 
actual  command-in-chief,  and  opened  the  attack  on 
Paris.  It  was  on  the  waning  of  that  fe'te-day  of  the 
Virgin  that  Jeanne,  in  all  her  flashing  panoply  of 
war,  scaled  the  first  ladder  raised  against  the  Port 
St.  Denis ;  but,  alas !  before  she  could  place  her 
foot  upon  the  battlement  her  thigh  was  pierced  by 
an  arrow,  and  she  fell.  Shades,  too,  of  night  were 
falling,  and  Ren6  sounded  the  retreat,  whilst  many 
a  gallant  heart  trembled  more  for  La  Pucelle  than 
for  the  temporary  check.  Helped  by  Guy  de  Laval 
and  Jean  de  Clermont,  as  constant  as  himself,  the 
young  chief  of  the  staff  placed  tenderly  the  wounded 
Maid  upon  a  sumpter-horse,  and  himself  led  her  to 
the  nuns'  quarters  at  the  Chapelle  de  St.  Denis  hard 
by,  and  assisted  to  dress  her  wound. 

Rene"  rallied  the  flower  of  the  French  forces,  and 
many  a  grizzled  warrior  and  many  a  beardless  recruit 
felt  the  influence  of  his  enthusiasm — whilst  all  were 


JEANNE  D'ARC  171 

ready  to  lay  down  their   lives  for  La  Pucelle,  and 
mingle  their  blood  with  hers.    A  quaint  couplet  says : 

"  La  dit  il  mante  la  fibre  bande 
Que  lefier  Prince  Rend  commande !" 

Paris  fell,  and  Charles  came  to  his  own,  whilst 
Rene  bade  farewell  to  La  Pucelle,  and  hurried  off 
to  Bar-le-Duc,  where  brave  and  fair  Isabelle  was 
holding  her  own  and  his  with  difficulty  against 
unscrupulous  and  unpatriotic  factions.  Jeanne  felt 
the  absence  of  her  most  trusty  ally  keenly,  and  missed 
his  energetic  counsels  ;  but  she  bravely  resumed  the 
conduct  of  the  war,  instructed  by  her  heavenly 
patrons.  A  crisis,  however,  was  approaching — a 
crisis  which  was  momentous  in  its  consequence  for 
herself.  Called  to  give  siege  to  Compiegne  on  May  24, 
1430,  she  was  taken  prisoner,  and  the  hopes  of 
France  were  wrecked.  Without  La  Pucelle  the 
fight  was  impossible,  and  Rene  had  gone  too  ! 

The  rest  of  the  story  of  La  Pucelle  is,  alas  ! 
soon  told.  What  she  said  to  Charles,  Duke  of 
Lorraine,  at  the  outset  of  her  mission  might  well  be 
said  of  her  now  that  she  was  hors  de  combat: 
"  La  lutte  sera  vive,  mais  fai  le  plan  precis  pour 
triompher !"  (The  struggle  will  be  fierce,  but  I  have 
a  plan  of  certain  victory  !).  It  was  said  that  Jeanne 
was  captured  by  some  archers  from  Picardy,  who 
crept  unseen  between  the  legs  of  her  escort.  By 
them  handed  over  to  John,  Duke  of  Luxemburg,  she 
was  sold  to  the  English.  The  Tour  de  la  Pucelle 
still  marks  the  spot.  Not  a  hand  in  France  was 
raised  to  rescue  the  holy  maiden.  Charles  himself, 
who  owed  all  to  her,  seems  to  have  forgotten  her 
very  soon  after  his  return  to  Loches  and  to  the  arms 
of  his  "  belle  des  belles,"  Agnes  Sorel.  Rene"  was  fight- 


172    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

ing  for  his  own  in  Lorraine  and  Bar,  and  could  do 
nothing  for  his  heroine.  La  Pucelle  was  taken 
from  fortress  to  fortress,  each  prison  being  more 
fearsome  than  the  last.  She  was  subjected  to  insult 
and  injury,  treachery  and  outrage,  and,  deserted  by 
everyone,  she  remained  reliant  only  upon  God.  Her 
trial  as  an  enemy  and  a  sorceress  was  a  mockery  ; 
even  her  own  people  turned  against  her  ;  her  straight- 
forward answers  and  her  superhuman  fortitude  baffled 
her  judges.  At  last  she  was  condemned  and  shut  up 
in  a  cage  of  iron,  her  feet  fettered  with  irons,  and  her 
body  stripped  almost  to  nakedness.  Alas  that  God, 
whose  devoted  servant  she  was,  should  have  destined 
her  to  this  last  stage  of  despair !  Through  all  her 
bitter  trials  and  sufferings  she  maintained  an  un- 
daunted demeanour.  Were  her  "Voices"  hushed 
now  that  she  prayed  for  death  ?  When  some  English 
bigots  approached  to  taunt  her,  she  answered  meekly  : 
"  Je  sais  bien  que  les  Anglois  me  feront  mourir  " 
(I  know  perfectly  well  that  the  English  will  put  me 
to  death). 

A  year's  captivity  and  cruelty,  harsh  and  revolting, 
found  the  spotless,  unselfish,  and  pious  "  Maid  of 
Orleans  "  in  her  twentieth  year — alas  !  so  young  to 
die — a  human  wreck  ;  but,  mercifully,  an  end  was 
put  to  her  sufferings  at  Rouen  on  May  30,  1431. 
Burnt  to  death  in  the  market-place, — calling  upon 
Jesus,  Mary,  Michael,  Catherine,  and  Margaret, — 
her  fiendish  murderers  hardly  allowed  the  fire  to  cool 
before  they  raked  up  her  poor  grey  ashes,  and  then 
cast  them  with  maledictions  into  the  swirling  Seine. 
So  perished  Jeanne  d'Arc,  the  child  of  God,  the 
deliverer  of  her  country.  Now  her  place  is  among 
the  saints  :  she  is  St.  Jeanne  d'Arc. 


JEANNE  D'ARC  173 

It  was  said  that  her  heart  was  found  intact  after 
the  fire  had  burnt  itself  out,  and  that  as  one  stooped 
to  pick  it  up  a  white  dove  fluttered  before  his  face  ! 
***** 

111  news  travels  apace.  Rene  de  Bar  et  Lorraine 
heard  of  the  tragedy  at  Rouen,  and  was  broken- 
hearted. He  dismissed  his  captains,  his  courtiers, 
and  his  minstrels,  and  shut  himself  up  in  his  castle 
at  Clermont,  where  he  chided  his  soul  with  tears  and 
fastings.  His  was  the  '  bitter  cry  :  "  Ma  Royne 
blanche,  Jeanne,  est  mort — helas !  ma  Royne  est 
mort !" 

The  heart,  too,  of  Charles,  the  King,  reproached 
him  before  he  died  ;  he  could  never  really  have  for- 
gotten La  Pucelle.  A  little  girl  was  born  to  him 
and  Queen  Marie  six  months  after  Jeanne's  martyr- 
dom ;  her  name  was  "  Jeanne/'  as  he  said,  "en  recon- 
naissance et  pour  mes  pe'che's." 

In  the  Register  of  Taxes  the  space  against  Dom- 
remy  was  left  vacant  until  the  great  revolution,  except 
for  the  entry  :  "  Neant,  a  cause  de  la  Pucelle."  Her 
parents'  cottage  is  still  preserved,  although  the  Bois 
Chenus  is  no  more.  The  memory  of  Jeanne  d'Arc 
will  never  die. 


CHAPTER  VI 

MARIE    D'ANJOU "  LA    PETITE    REINE    DE    BOURGES  " 

I. 

"  THE  little  Queen  of  Bourges," — so  called  partly  in 
derision,  partly  in  pity, — but  all  the  same  one  of  the 
noblest  and  best  Queens  who  ever  shared  the  sove- 
reign throne  of  France  :  "  noble,"  not  so  much  in 
gradation  of  rank  as  in  distinction  of  character ; 
"  best,"  or  "  good,"  not  in  the  sense  of  mock  righteous- 
ness, but  in  the  interpretation  of  whole-heartedness. 

Marie  d'Anjou  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  King 
Louis  II.  and  Queen  Yolande  of  Sicily- Anjou-Naples- 
Provence.  Born  at  Angers,  October  14,  1404,  she 
and  her  younger  brother,  Rene,  four  years  her  junior, 
grew  up  to  love  one  another  almost  distractedly.  So 
intense  was  this  fraternal  affection  that  their  solicitous 
and  resourceful  mother  viewed  it  with  apprehension, 
fearing  its  consequences, — if  left  unchecked  or  un- 
diverted into  a  more  natural  channel, — the  cloister. 
It  was  no  part  of  the  excellent  training  the  Queen 
provided  for  her  offspring  to  hide  their  futures  under 
the  garb  of  religion  ;  she  had  lofty  ambitions  for  all 
her  children,  and  those  ambitions  she  lived  to  see 
realized. 

Marie  d'Anjou's  betrothal  and  marriage  to  Charles 

174 


MARIE   D  ANJOU 
Prom  a  Painting  of  the  School  of  Jean  Fouquet  (1460).    National  Gallery,  London 

To  face  page  174 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  175 

de  Ponthieu,  Dauphin  of  France,  in  1422,  was  a 
supreme  master-stroke  of  statecraft  which  only  such 
a  remarkable  mother  and  Queen  as  Yolande  of  Sicily  - 
Anjou  could  effect.  She,  with  all  her  prescience, 
could  not  have  forecast  the  future  of  France  proper 
and  her  many  sovereign  sister  States,  which  was,  in  its 
happy  fruition,  due  to  that  far-seeing  nuptial  con- 
tract. Marie's  son,  Louis  XL,  made  France  one 
nation  much  as  she  is  to-day. 

When  Queen  Yolande  so  anxiously  took  charge  of 
the  young  Dauphin,  and  had  him  educated  with  her 
own  children,  she  was  quite  prepared  for  any  mental 
and  physical  development  in  her  son-in-law  which 
might  be  expected  to  result  from  his  unhappy  parent- 
age. No  doubt  she  did  what  was  possible  to  correct 
faults  of  heredity  and  to  develop  such  latent  excel- 
lencies as  had  not  been  wholly  vitiated  in  the  child's 
infancy.  Still,  we  may  be  sure  she  had  a  heart  full 
of  trouble  as  she  witnessed  the  degeneration  of  her 
son-in-law  from  paths  of  probity  and  virtue. 

In  truth,  the  marriage  of  Princess  Marie  was,  in  a 
strict  sense,  a  sacrifice  and  an  oblation.  The  mating 
of  her  dearly  loved  daughter,  a  girl  of  unusual 
promise,  with  a  youth  of  evil  ancestry  and  unworthy 
predispositions  must  have  cost  the  devoted  mother 
much. 

Marie  was  remarkable  for  rare  beauty  of  person — 
pale,  with  perfect  features ;  tall,  with  a  graceful 
figure,  and  distinguished  by  her  regal  carriage. 

In  personal  appearance  Charles  was  unattractive  : 
his  figure  was  insignificant  and  ill-formed  ;  his  head 
was  unduly  large ;  he  had  large  feet  and  hands, 
whilst  his  legs  were  short  and  bowed,  and  this  caused 
an  ungraceful  gait  ;  his  face  was  sickly-looking  and 

12 


176    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

pock-marked,  with  a  prominent  nose,  a  wide  and 
sensual  mouth,  and  a  heavy  jaw  ;  his  eyes  were  small 
and  somewhat  crisscross  ;  he  had  coarse  dark  hair 
and  heavy  eyebrows.  If  his  destiny  had  not  been  a 
throne,  he  might  just  as  well  have  found  his  career  in 
a  stable.  With  all  these  personal  disadvantages, 
Charles  was  naturally  warm-hearted  and  affectionate ; 
he  was  possessed  of  a  cool  judgment,  very  affable  and 
considerate,  and,  when  roused,  a  very  lion  in  the  way. 
The  marks  of  his  evil  mother's  influence  never  left 
him ;  the  crushing  of  his  natural  inclinations  and 
opportunities  in  childhood  warped  and  unbalanced  his 
mental  calibre. 

It  was  said  scoffingly  of  him  by  those  who  were 
bereft  of  feeling  :  "  Le  Dauphin  est  un  fou,  fils  d'un 
insense  et  d'une  prostituee."*  Jean  Juvenal  des 
Ursins  perhaps  went  too  far  in  the  opposite  direction, 
for  in  1433  he  wrote  in  his  "Chronicle"  concerning 
the  King  :  "  Sa  vie  est  plaisante  &  Dieu ;  il  n'y-a- 
en  aucun  vice."^ 

The  first  notice  we  find  of  the  life  of  Marie 
d'Anjou,  however,  does  not  refer  to  her  union  with 
Charles  VII.,  but  her  betrothal,  when  only  five  years 
old,  to  Jehan  de  Beaux,  Prince  of  Taranto,  her  kins- 
man. He  was  the  son  of  the  Prince  of  Taranto  who 
accompanied  King  Louis  II.,  Marie's  father,  on  his 
romantic  journey  to  Perpignan,  in  1399,  to  welcome 
Princess  Yolanda  d'Arragona.  Descended  in  direct 
line  from  Charles,  first  Duke  of  Anjou,  younger 
brother  of  St.  Louis  IX.,  his  grandfather  was 
Philippe,  second  son  of  Charles  III.  and  Marguerite 

*  "The  Dauphin  is  a  poor  fool,  the  son  of  a  madman  and  a 
prostitute." 

f  "His  manner  of  life  is  pleasant  to  God  ;  he  has  no  vice," 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  177 

of  France.  Through  the  last-named  Princess  a  sad  stain 
besmirched  the  shield  of  the  silver  lilies.  Jehanne 
and  Blanche  de  Luxembourg,  daughters  of  Otto  IV., 
Count  of  Burgundy,  married  respectively  King 
Philippe  the  "  Tall  "  and  King  Charles  the  "  Fair  " 
of  France.  Charged  with  witchcraft,  they  were 
imprisoned  for  life  in  the  Chateau  de  Dourdan,  where 
they  were  tonsured,  scourged,  and  tortured — although 
they  were  the  most  beautiful  and  most  highly 
cultured  women  of  their  day — together  with  their 
sister-in-law  Marguerite,  but  she  returned  to  her 
husband  in  1314.  Their  terrible  experiences  were 
made  traditional  in  the  family,  and,  naturally,  did 
not  conduce  to  success  in  courtship. 

No  doubt  the  idea  which  fixed  itself  in  the  minds 
of  Louis  II.  and  Yolande  with  respect  to  this 
betrothal  was  the  strengthening  of  the  claims  of 
Anjou,  of  the  younger  line,  upon  the  crown  of 
Naples,  by  the  alliance  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
house.  Why  this  arrangement  was  set  aside,  or 
when,  it  is  hard  to  say.  Some  chroniclers  aver  that 
the  young  Prince  was  drowned  at  sea  off  Taranto  ; 
others,  that  he  had  different  views  ;  and,  more  likely 
than  all,  others  attribute  the  renunciation  to  the 
action  of  Queen  Yolande,  who,  directly  she  had 
obtained  charge  of  the  person  of  the  young  Dauphin 
Charles,  determined  a  more  brilliant  match  politically, 
if  a  less  attractive  one  psychologically. 

Possibly  Queen  Yolande  hardly  realized,  at  the 
date  of  that  auspicious  marriage,  how  its  consumma- 
tion would  affect  herself.  High-toned  as  she  was, 
and  assertive  of  Anjou's  prestige,  she  could  not  know 
that  Queen  Isabeau's  absolute  declension  from  recti- 
tude would,  by  force  of  contrast  alone,  throw  her 


178     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

own  worthy  aims  into  emphatic  prominence.  That 
marriage  was  the  opening  of  the  portals  of  imperial 
interest  to  the  personal  guidance  of  the  strongest 
mind  and  will  in  France.  She  became  actually  the 
power  on  the  throne,  not  behind  it.  Her  hand 
directed  the  issues  of  life  and  death  between  the  rival 
Powers — France  and  England.  Yolande  became  at 
once  the  ruler  of  France  and  the  dictator  of  her 
foreign  policy.  What  has  history  to  say  about  all 
this  ?  Nothing,  or  next  to  nothing.  Historians, — 
the  most  narrow-minded  and  most  easily  biassed  of 
writers, — have  not  cared  to  trace  and  teach  the 
ethics  of  the  personality  of  this  ruler  of  men  and 
States. 

The  genesis  of  the  paramount  influence  of  women 
in  the  public  and  private  life  of  France  was  un- 
doubtedly in  the  reign  of  Charles  VII.  He  was 
successively  in  the  hands  of  Isabeau,  his  unworthy 
mother ;  of  Yolande,  his  noble  mother-in-law ;  of 
Marie,  his  much-enduring  wife  ;  and  of  Agnes  Sorel, 
his  inspiring  mistress.  Happily  for  him,  he  was 
withdrawn  early  from  the  immediate  care  of  Queen 
Isabeau,  but  her  intrigues  later  on  brought  out  the 
latent  bad  elements  of  his  character.  What  saving 
grace  was  his  was  his  through  Yolande  of  Sicily- 
Anjou.  His  wife  and  his  chief  mistress  were  given 
him  for  two  distinct  purposes  :  Marie  kept  the  wolf 
from  the  door  and  emboldened  her  faint-hearted 
spouse,  whilst  Agnes  cheered  his  troubled  spirit  and 
impelled  his  motive-power.  There  is  a  quatrain 
of  Francis  I.  which  is  interesting  from  the  fact  that 
his  versification  leaves  it  doubtful  whether  Marie  or 
Agnes  was  actually  his  good  genius  :  he  names  both  in 
the  first  line  : 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  179 

"  Gentille  Marie  (Agnes),  plus  d'honnewr  tu  mdrite, 
La  cause  6tant  de  France  recouvrer ; 
Que  ce  que  peut  dedans  un  doitre  ouvrer — 
Close  nonain  ou  bien  dewt  hermite."  * 

Marie  and  Rene"  d'Anjou  and  Charles  de  Ponthieu 
were  educated  together,  and  for  four  years  or  more 
were  inseparable  companions.  The  betrothal  of 
Charles  and  Marie  was  effected  at  the  Palace  of  the 
Louvre,  December  18,  1413,  in  the  presence  of  the 
King  and  Queen  of  France  and  of  the  King  and 
Queen  of  Sicily- Anjou.  Charles  VI.  was  then  still 
King  of  France,  and  fully  in  possession  of  his  senses. 
His  troubles,  political  and  mental,  ranged  from  1417 
to  1422,  when  he  had  become  no  more  than  nominal 
Sovereign,  driven  from  place  to  place,  crushed, 
depressed,  and  suffering.  Until  his  malady  became 
hopeless,  he  was  noted  for  his  nobility  of  endurance, 
his  chivalry  of  deportment,  and  his  unselfish  devotion 
to  his  duty.  His  Don  Quixotic  sort  of  life,  however, 
was  a  mixture  of  smiles  and  frowns — joys  and 
sorrows.  Such  a  wife  and  mother  as  Queen  Isabeau 
proved  herself  to  be  was  quite  enough  to  shatter  the 
patience  and  the  peace  of  the  most  stolid  of  men. 
There  was  not  a  more  unhappy  family  in  all  France 
than  that  of  its  principal  Soveregin,  nor  a  more 
miserable  home  than  that  of  its  King. 

Still,  there  were  not  wanting  human  touches  which 
paint  the  character  of  King  Charles  VI.  in  sympa- 
thetic colours.  In  the  King's  room  at  the  Castle  of 
Blois  is  a  superb  piece  of  tapestry,  among  many 
others,  embroidered  with  the  "  Story  of  the  Seigneur 

*  "  Gentle  Marie  (Agnes),  thou  hast  gained  all  honour, 
Of  France  the  new  life  thou  wast  inspirer  ; 
But  thou  wast  born  to  adorn  the  cloister, 
Enclosed  nun  or  dedicated  sister." 


180     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN 

and  Chatelaine  de  Courrages."  The  "  Annales 
Franqais "  recount  the  following  narrative  :  "  The 
Seigneur  de  Courrages  was  called  upon  by  the 
Parliament  of  Paris  to  fight  in  the  '  Lists '  with 
a  certain  Knight,  Jehan  Le  Gris,  for  the  honour 
of  his  wife,  the  Dame  de  Courrages.  During  the 
absence  of  her  spouse  in  the  Holy  Land,  the  fair 
chatelaine  gave  her  favours  to  an  urgent  lover,  the 
Seigneur  Le  Gris,  and  he  made  love  to  her,  quite 
naturally,  in  return.  King  Charles  VI.  was  pre- 
siding at  a  tournament,  and  he  noted  the  presence  of 
the  lady  in  question,  but  was  amazed  at  her  effrontery ; 
for  she  was  seated,  superbly  attired,  in  her  state 
chariot,  in  view  of  the  whole  assemblage,  whereas 
the  custom  of  the  time  should  have  found  her  upon 
her  knees  in  her  closet,  praying  for  her  good  man. 
The  King  despatched  a  herald  to  the  impudent 
hussy,  with  a  message  that  '  it  is  inconceivable  that 
anyone  lying  under  so  grievous  a  reproach  should 
assume  herself  to  be  innocent  till  such  time  as  that 
innocence  shall  have  been  made  apparent.'  The 
brazen  dame  was  ordered  at  once  to  dismount  from 
her  carriage  and  retire  to  her  manoir.  She  was 
unwilling  to  bow  to  the  royal  command,  and,  hearing 
of  this,  the  King  sent  another  messenger,  who  was 
instructed  to  conduct  the  fair  and  frail  delinquent 
beneath  a  scaffold,  where  she  was  ordered  to  cry 
aloud  to  God  for  mercy,  and  to  the  King  for 
clemency.  In  the  issue  of  arms,  luckily  for  her, 
fortune  favoured  her  husband,  who  unhorsed  his 
adversary,  and,  after  pinning  him  to  the  ground  with 
his  sword,  compelled  him  to  confess  the  villainies  he 
had  committed  with  his  wife.  Then  the  unfortunate 
man  was  hurried  off  to  the  scaffold, — beneath  which 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  181 

Dame  de  Courrages  was  humbly  kneeling, — and  there 
and  then  hung  up  by  the  neck  by  way  of  justification 
of  his  miserable  sweetheart."  What  happened  to  the 
frail  woman  the  chronicler  has  failed  to  tell ;  probably 
the  Seigneur  de  Courrages  took  his  erring  wife  home 
and  administered  a  well-deserved  flagellation  in  the 
privacy  of  his  bedchamber,  and  condemned  her  to 
a  period  of  imprisonment  in  the  family  dungeon  upon 
a  spare  diet  of  bread  and  water !  Such  was  the 
wholesome  discipline  for  marital  infidelity  in  the  days 
of  chivalry  ! 

The  marriage  of  Charles,  Count  of  Ponthieu,  and 
Marie,  Princess  of  Sicily- Anjou,  was  solemnized  at 
St.  Martin  at  Tours,  January  15,  1422.  It  was  a 
year  of  rejoicing  in  France,  for  on  May  Day  her  King 
by  descent,  Charles  VI.,  and  her  King  by  conquest, 
Henry  V.,  entered  Paris  riding  side  by  side  in  a 
splendid  triumph  of  peace.  Charles's  reason  had 
returned  to  him  with  the  return  of  happier  days,  and 
although  the  spectre  of  Isabeau  was  beside  him,  he 
managed  to  retain  his  senses  and  his  vigour  until 
October  21,  when  death  mercifully  heralded  a  new 
reign  and  a  new  regime  in  Paris. 

The  Dauphin  and  Dauphine  spent  their  short 
honeymoon  at  Loches  and  Bourges,  whence  they 
were  called  to  attend  the  Kings  in  Paris,  and  there 
they  remained  till  Charles  VI.  died.  Thereafter 
troubles  once  more  devastated  fair  suffering  France  : 
the  peace  was  broken,  and  a  broken  band  of  fugitives 
fled  the  capital.  The  Court  sought  refuge  at  Bourges. 

"  The  King  by  misfortune  in  the  warres  grew  so 
behindhand,  both  in  fame  and  estate,  that  amongst 
other  afflictions  hee  was  subject  to  reproach  and 
poverty,  so  that  he  dined  in  his  small  chamber 


182    REN^l  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

attended  only  by  his  household  servants.  Pothou 
and  La  Hire,  coming  to  Chateaudun  to  ask  for 
succour,  found  him  at  table  with  no  more  than  a 
rump  of  mutton  and  two  chickens.  He  had  neither 
wine  nor  dessert,  and  only  two  attendants,  whilst  his 
carriage  had  no  relay  of  horses  and  only  two  grooms. 
He  was  reproached  for  his  love  of  fair  Agnes 
(Sorel),  but  the  Bishop  of  St.  Denis  reported  that  hee 
loved  her  onely  for  her  pleasing  behaviour,  eloquent 
speech,  and  beauty  ;  and  that  he  never  used  any 
lascivious  action  unto  her,  nor  never  touched  her 
beneath  the  chin." 

The  Comptes  de  la  Royne  Marie  record  that  the 
King  and  Queen  were  reduced  to  eat  their  meals  off 
common  pewter  dishes,  that  they  had  little  or  no 
change  of  linen,  and  that  the  Queen  sold  all  her 
jewels  to  purchase  food  and  other  necessaries.  The 
townsfolk  of  the  neighbourhood  as  well  as  the 
nobility  contributed  liberally  to  their  Sovereigns' 
wants.  Jacques  Cceur  of  Bourges  in  particular 
rendered  them  hospitality,  for  he  was  accustomed  to 
send  in  daily  the  royal  supper  at  his  own  expense. 
Coeur  was  a  merchant,  a  jeweller,  and  a  wine-grower, 
and  waxed  rich  in  trade,  but  never  wavered  in  his 
loyalty.  He  became  Charles's  treasurer,  but  after 
advancing  him  nearly  300,000  gold  crowns,  he  was 
for  some  unknown  reason  cast  into  prison  and  con- 
demned to  execution  and  the  confiscation  of  his  goods. 
Queen  Marie  pleaded  for  their  faithful  subject,  and 
gained  his  reprieve,  but  Jacques  Coeur  never  recovered 
his  liberty  nor  his  property. 

A  gory  stain  was  dashed  upon  the  lily  shield  of 
France  when  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  was  basely  slain 
by  Tanneguy  de  Chatel  in  the  King's  presence.  He 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  183 

had  been  one  of  Charles's  most  devoted  adherents,  for 
he  it  was  who,  in  1418,  carried  off  the  youthful 
Dauphin,  wrapped  in  a  piece  of  arras,  for  safety  to  the 
Bastile,  and  whence  he  was  allowed  to  escape  to 
Poitiers.  It  was  a  time  of  terrible  disaster.  Paris 
was  in  open  revolution,  and  all  the  possessions  of  the 
Crown  were  threatened  with  destruction.  The 
English  were  marching  all  over  France  unopposed, 
for  the  French  Court  and  Government  were  divided 
by  the  feuds  of  rival  leaders.  On  June  12  the 
starving  populace  of  the  capital  burnt  the  H6tel  de 
Ville,  the  Temple,  and  prison.  Women  were  seized, 
outraged,  and  killed,  and  1,600  murdered  bodies  were 
scattered  in  the  streets  and  squares.  The  Count  of 
Armagnac  was  the  chief  supporter  of  the  Dauphin's 
party,  but  Queen  Isabeau  joined  hands  with  Jean 
"  sans  Peur,"  Duke  of  Burgundy,  against  her 
husband, — alas  !  now  quite  imbecile, — and  her  only 
son. 

A  peace  was  patched  up,  and  it  was  arranged  that 
the  Dauphin  and  the  Duke  should  meet  for  mutual 
satisfaction  at  Montereau.  The  latter  had  no 
suspicion  of  foul-play,  and  Charles  had  no  inkling 
of  what  was  in  de  Chatel's  mind.  The  meeting  was 
arranged  upon  the  stone  bridge  crossing  the  Seine,  on 
September  10,  1419.  There  the  Dauphin,  in  full 
armour,  awaited  his  rival's  approach.  The  Duke 
passed  the  two  barriers  on  the  bridge  assured  by  the 
words  :  "  Come  if  you  please,  Monseigneur.  Fear 
not ;  the  Dauphin  is  awaiting  you."  At  the  young 
Prince's  feet  the  proud  Jean  knelt  and  did  homage, 
but  Charles  put  out  no  hand  to  raise  him  graciously 
nor  paid  him  any  compliment,  but  brusquely  ex- 
claimed :  "  Monseigneur,  you  and  the  Queen  have 


184    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

disgraced  France  and  me.  I  command  you  to  leave 
that  wicked  woman  alone  and  go  back  in  peace  to 
your  dominions." 

The  Duke,  astounded,  rose,  and  was  about  to  offer 
some  uncomplimentary  reply,  when  he  was  struck 
down  by  Tanneguy  de  Chatel  with  his  battle-axe,  as 
he  hissed  out  :  "  Thou  art  a  traitor  !  Go  thy  way, 
base  Burgundy !"  Twenty  swords  leaped  from  their 
scabbards  and  finished  the  dastardly  deed,  and  Charles, 
shocked  beyond  expression,  mounted  his  horse  and 
galloped  off.  Queen  Isabeau  was  at  Troyes,  where 
she  had  been  exiled  by  her  son's  advisers,  and  the 
tragic  death  of  her  confederate  roused  the  whole  fury 
of  her  nature.  She  assembled  the  chief  citizens,  and 
made  them  an  impassioned  harangue  : — 

"  Consider  the  horrors,  faults,  and  crimes,  perpe- 
trated in  this  kingdom  of  France  by  Charles,  soi- 
disant  Dauphin  of  Vienne.  It  is  here  and  now  agreed 
that  our  son  Henry,  King  of  England,  and  our  dear 
nephew,  Philippe,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  shall  not  enter 
into  relations  with  the  said  Charles." 

The  assassination  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
weighed  heavily  upon  the  conscience  of  Charles ; 
he  never  concealed  his  wish  that  his  mother's 
colleague  should  come  by  his  end,  but  he  never  put 
his  desire  into  exact  words. 

The  year  1422  saw  Marie  d'Anjou  seated,  at 
least  metaphorically,  upon  the  throne  of  France. 
Both  Kings  of  France  died  soon  after  her  marriage, 
— Henry  V.  on  August  31,  and  Charles  VI.  on 
October  21, — and  Charles  VII.  and  Marie  were 
proclaimed  King  and  Queen  of  France  at  Mehun- 
sur  -  Yevre  in  Berry  on  November  1 0  follow- 
ing. They  were  crowned  in  Poitiers  Cathedral  on 


A   BESIEGED    CASTLE    IN   FRANCE 

From  a  Miniature,  MS.  Fourteenth  Century,  "  Valeur  Maxime  " 
British  Museum 


To  face  page  184 


Christmas  Day,  where  the  new  King  had  established 
his  Parliament. 

The  King  and  Queen  made  many  progresses 
through  their  circumscribed  dominions.  The  first 
was  in  the  summer  of  1423,  when  they  made  a 
state  entry  also  into  Angers,  and  heard  Mass  at 
the  Cathedral  of  St.  Maurice.  They  presented  to 
the  Chapter  two  superb  pieces  of  tapestry,  depicting 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  The  Queen's  brother, 
Louis  III.,  was  of  course  in  Italy,  but  the  Duke 
of  Bar-Lorraine  and  the  Duchess  Isabelle  were  there 
supporting  the  Queen-mother  Yolande  in  rendering 
gracious  hospitalities  ;  the  citizens  provided  a 
mystery-play,  and  the  Court  a  tournament.  The 
royal  couple  were  lodged  in  the  castle,  from  the 
gateway  of  which  Queen  Marie  addressed  the 
assemblage  of  people  :  "  Vos  citoyens  et  habitans  de 
la  mile.  d'Angiers  soyeant  toujours  loyaux  et  fideles 
d  vostre  sovereyns,  et  aussi  des  beaulx  amis  vers  la 
couronne  de  France,  laquelle  je  porte  moi  meme"* 
Vociferous  plaudits  hailed  this  declamation,  and  both 
Queen  Yolande  and  Duke  Rene  made  patriotic 
addresses. 

Five  years  later  Charles  and  Marie  entered 
Anjou  and  took  up  their  residence  at  Saumur,  where 
the  King  received  the  homage  of  no  less  a  fellow- 
Sovereign  than  the  Duke  of  Brittany,  this  being 
due  to  the  tactful  policy  of  the  Queen-mother. 
Charles  also  had  a  request  to  place  before  the  loyal 
Angevines  :  he  wanted  money  and  men  to  carry  on 
the  ceaseless  warfare  against  the  English.  In  this 

*  "You  noble  citizens  and  good  inhabitants  of  this  worthy  city 
of  Angers  were  ever  famous  for  loyalty  and  fidelity  to  your 
Sovereigns,  and,  moreover,  the  best  of  friends  to  the  Crown  of 
France,  which  you  see  I  wear. 


186    REN£  KANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

he   admirably   succeeded,   and    through  Duke   Rene 
he  gained  help  from  Lorraine  and  Bar  besides. 

Marie,  though  the  consort  of  a  fugitive  penniless 
King,  had  a  suite  worthy  of  herself  and  of  her 
parentage  and  rank  ;  the  Queen-mother  saw  to  that. 
Her  Controller  was  Hardoin  de  Mailly,  and  her 
Master  of  Horse  Jacques  Odon  de  Maulevrier,  a 
devoted  friend  of  her  brother,  Duke  Rene.  The 
Queen's  four  Dames  d'Honneur  were  Catherine 
Bourgoing,  Airnee  de  Beauvais,  Philippe  de  la 
Rochefoucault,  and  Jeanne  Sorel.  Her  Maids  of 
Honour  were  Marie  du  Couldray,  Jeanne  de  la 
Grosse,  Catherine  de  Beauvais,  Jeannett  la  Garrelle, 
Hervee  Catherine  de  Montplaie,  and  Jehanne 
Biardelle,  with  three  quite  young  girls  whose  Christian 
names  alone  have  been  preserved — Felize,  Geffeline, 
and  Jaequette — perhaps  pet  names. 

Duke  Rene,  ever  a  liberal-minded  and  open-handed 
Prince,  gave  each  of  his  sister's  ladies  a  robe  of 
richest  aigneaulx  fur,  with  crimson  satin  lining,  and 
twenty  skins  of  martens  for  bordering  their  kirtle 
bodices.  Each  robe  cost  16  florins  (  =  £12),  and  was 
supplied  by  the  Queen-mother's  furrier  at  Angers, 
one  Martin  Chebiton. 

The  immodest  fashions  set  by  Queen  Isabeau  and 
the  ladies  of  her  Court,  and  their  outrageous  modes 
of  headgear,  did  not  go  unrebuked  by  the  better 
sort  of  clergy.  A  very  famous  preaching  friar,  one 
Thomas  Correcte,  a  Carmelite  monk  from  Brittany, 
in  particular  inaugurated  a  crusade  against  feminine 
extravagances  through  the  North  of  France  and  in 
Flanders  during  the  second  decade  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  He  further  strenuously  denounced  the 
dignified  clergy  who  kept  fashionable  mistresses. 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  187 

He  was  welcomed  heartily  by  the  burghers  of  the 
towns  through  which  he  passed,  and  conducted  to  a 
special  pulpit  erected  in  the  market-place,  adorned 
with  rich  hangings  and  a  gigantic  crucifix.  Guards 
of  honour  and  musicians  were  at  his  service,  and, 
in  spite  of  opposition  and  natural  predilections,  the 
clergy  fell  into  line  with  the  popular  fancy,  and  rang 
their  bells  on  his  arrival.  His  denunciations  were 
quite  in  accord  with  the  feelings  of  the  people,  but 
they  incited  the  rougher  element  to  take  the  law 
into  their  own  hands.  Squads  of  youths  paraded 
the  public  thoroughfares  in  search  of  errant  dames, 
and  no  sooner  had  their  gaze  alighted  upon  a  lady 
of  degree,  coiffured  &  I'outrance,  than  a  flight  of 
stones,  deftly  aimed,  quickly  made  havoc  of  her 
headgear.  The  popular  cry,  "  Un  hennin!  un 
hennin !  d  has  les  hennins  /"  produced  a  panic,  so 
that  the  women  dared  hardly  sally  forth  from  their 
own  doors.  It  was  said  that  the  friar  personally 
organized  these  demonstrations,  and  even  paid  the 
lads  to  disenchant  the  fair  sex  by  forcibly  pulling 
down  their  hideous  superstructures.  At  all  events, 
women  with  dishevelled  heads  and  disordered  attire 
ran  hither  and  thither  helpless  and  defenceless. 
The  worthy  and  enthusiastic  evangelist  had,  how- 
ever, an  alternative  fashion  with  which  modest 
women  might  cover  their  heads  and  breasts.  He 
prescribed  the  universal  habit  of  wearing  plain 
chapelles,  the  ordinary  caps  of  peasant  women.  The 
raid,  however,  ceased  to  terrify  the  determined 
votaries  of  eccentricity  in  dress,  and,  as  Monstrelet, 
the  historian,  pithily  puts  it,  "  Snails,  when  anybody 
passes  near  them,  draw  in  their  horns  ;  but  when 
the  danger  is  past  they  put  them  forth  again."  The 


188    REN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

hennin,  so  called  by  Friar  Correcte,  became  still 
more  gigantic  and  grotesque,  although  Queen  Marie, 
backed  by  her  good  mother,  Queen  Yolande,  made  loud 
protests  and  refused  their  favours  to  transgressors. 

With  respect  to  indecency  in  dress,  the  preacher 
insisted  upon  running  a  thick  cord  between  the  men 
and  women   of  his   audiences.      The   mixing  of  the 
sexes  in  public  he  gravely  denounced,  and  the  bare- 
ness of  women's  breasts  and  the  tightness  of  men's 
hose  exctied  his  most  eloquent  tirades.      The  reason 
of  the  cord  he  quaintly  phrased  :   "  I  perceive  that 
sly  doings  will  be  going  on !"     The  King  of  Sicily, 
Louis  III.,  and  Duke  Rene,  were  quite  in  accord  with 
the  friar's  philippics  ;  but  the   "  King  of  Bourges " 
was  another  sort  of  man,  and  much  of  the  coolness 
which  existed  between  himself  and  Queen  Marie  was 
due    to  her    moderation    in    dress   and    quietness  of 
manner.      Charles,  it  was  said,  chanced  to  hear  the 
friar  one  day  at  Ponthieu,  where  he  was  in  residence, 
and  ordered  him  to  keep  silence  and  depart.      The 
friar    retired    to     his    monastery    after    a    year    of 
eloquence  and  exertions,  but  his  animadversions  upon 
the    lives    of   the    higher    clergy    led   to    his    being 
summoned   to  Rome,   to  answer  to  certain  charges 
of  breach  of  monkish  discipline  and  errors  of  doctrine. 
The  poor  man  seems  to  have  felt  his  position  keenly, 
so  keenly,  indeed,  that  to  escape  judgment  he  jumped 
out  of  the  window  of  his  cell  and  decamped.      Being 
quickly  captured,  he  was  arraigned  before  the  Holy 
Office  of  the  Inquisition,  and  condemned  to  be  burnt 
as  a  heretic.      Perhaps  he  deserved  punishment  for 
his  unguarded  language,  but  he  paid  dearly  indeed 
as  a   reformer   of  gay    women's  fashions   and   gross 
parsons'  passions ! 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  189 

The  years  1427  and  1428  saw  France  plunged  in 
warfare.  King  Charles  shook  himself,  metaphori- 
cally, and  registered  a  vow  that  he  would  drive  out 
every  "  desecrating  English  dog."  He  bestirred  him- 
self, and  led  forlorn  hopes  here  and  there,  only  to 
meet  with  disaster ;  and  then  he  gave  way  to  despair, 
and  declared  that  he  would  do  no  more  for  France  or 
for  himself.  Queen  Marie,  with  true  Anjou-Aragon 
grit,  chided  him  with  his  faint-heartedness,  and  one 
day  she  surprised  him  greatly  by  appearing  in  a  full 
suit  of  armour  and  armed,  and  declared  that  "  If  you, 
Charles  of  France,  will  not  lead  your  troops,  I  will  !" 
Her  example  was  contagious,  for  within  a  week  scores 
of  loyal,  devoted  women  assumed  mail  and  stood  for 
the  weal  or  woe  of  France.  These  heroic  doings 
were  noised  abroad,  and  possibly  they  had  effect  in  a 
very  unexpected  quarter,  for  in  1429  another  heroine 
appeared  in  armour  from  the  eastern  frontier  of 
France,  and  made  good  woman's  claim  to  military 
prowess.  Thus  quaintly  wrote  Monstrelet  of  her  : 

"In  the  course  of  this  year  (1429)  a  young  girl 
called  Jehanne,  about  twenty  years  of  age,  and 
dressed  like  a  man,  came  to  Charles,  King  of  France, 
at  Chinon.  She  was  born  in  the  village  of  Droimy, 
on  the  borders  of  Burgundy  and  Lorraine,  not  far 
from  Vaucouleurs.  She  had  been  for  some  time  an 
ostler  and  chambermaid  at  an  inn,  and  had  shown 
much  courage  in  riding  horses  to  water  and  in  other 
feats  unusual  for  young  women  to  do.  She  called  her- 
self a  '  Maiden  inspired  by  the  Divine  Grace/  and  said 
that  she  was  sent  to  restore  Charles  to  his  kingdom." 

Very  little  has  been  recorded  of  what  Queen  Marie 
felt  and  said  concerning  that  strange  visitor.  Nobody 
in  all  that  recklessly  gay  Court  at  Chinon  viewed  the 


190     RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

coming  of  the  maid  of  Domremy  more  eagerly  or 
more  hopefully  than  did  she.  She  had  failed  to 
rouse  the  King  to  strike  a  new  blow  for  his  throne,  it 
is  true,  but  she  anxiously  prayed  that  this  heaven- 
sent village  girl  might  be  the  means  of  doing  so. 
The  Queen  gave  La  Pucelle  a  most  sympathetic 
welcome.  The  mysteries  of  devotion  and  the  dictates 
of  religion  had  in  her  a  very  reverent  disciple.  Apart- 
ments were  prepared  for  Jeanne's  reception  quite  near 
her  own  boudoir  and  private  oratory,  and  its  priest 
was  placed  at  her  disposal. 

If  Jeanne  was  dumbfounded  at  the  spectacle  of  a 
King  wholly  apathetic  to  the  duties  of  his  high  station, 
and  of  a  Court  abandoned,  in  the  midst  of  dire 
disaster,  to  all  the  frivolities  of  the  idle  and  the  disso- 
lute, she  had  at  least  one  solace.  The  beautiful  and 
serious  face  of  the  young  Queen  was  to  her  a  comfort 
and  a  stay.  Looking  from  one  bedizened  beauty  to 
another  in  that  fatuous  assembly,  her  eyes  fastened 
themselves  upon  the  one  figure  that  was  dissimilar  to 
the  rest, — the  figure  of  a  good  woman,  the  daughter 
of  the  good  Queen  Yolande.  She  looked  to  her  like 
what  she  conceived  of  her  own  saintly  Margaret,  of 
the  Bois  de  Chenus.  Marie  received  her  unsophisti- 
cated visitor  with  emotion.  She  entered  fully  into 
her  story,  and  conversed  daily  with  her  in  private 
about  herself,  her  home,  her  mission,  and  her 
"  voices,"  and  thus  she  gained  the  girl's  confidence 
and  her  love.  If  Jeanne  had  conceived  profound 
veneration  for  Queen  Yolande, — she  even  called  her 
"  my  St.  Catherine," — her  sentiments  towards  Queen 
Marie  were  those  of  the  most  tender  affection.  Marie, 
so  near  her  own  age,  so  modest,  so  simple,  and  so 
true,  became  Jeanne's  confidant  and  loving  patroness. 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  191 

To  Marie  the  mere  sight  of  the  girl  and  her  frank, 
girlish  ways  was  quite  sufficient,  had  she  sought  for 
proof  positive,  to  dispel  from  her  mind  any  suspicions 
which  may  have  been  forced  upon  her  about  Jeanne's 
relations  with  her  dear  brother,  Rene*  de  Bar.  Of 
course,  she  knew  him  far  too  well  to  credit  any  tales 
of  faithlessness  or  dishonour  on  his  part.  He  and 
she  had  been,  till  he  was  carried  off  to  Bar-le-Duc  by 
the  good  Cardinal  Louis  de  Bar,  the  very  dearest  and 
most  intimate  of  playmates  in  and  out  of  school. 
Their  intercourse  had  never  ceased ;  such  never  fails 
between  kindred  souls,  though  parted  by  hemispheres. 
Rene  was  a  just  man  still,  and  a  true  knight.  Jeanne 
likened  him  to  her  own  St.  Michael. 

All  through  Jeanne's  ordeals, — first  the  open  scoffs 
of  the  courtiers  and  servitors  at  Chinon,  then  the 
covert  jeers  of  the  divines  and  busybodies  at  Poitiers, 
and  lastly  the  base  insinuations  of  libertines  and 
adventurers,  —  the  Queen  stood  by  La  Pucelle. 
Queen  Yolande's  panel  of  matrons  found  Marie's 
tribute  of  the  utmost  value  ;  she  staked  her  royal 
prerogative  upon  the  girl's  absolute  chastity,  and  the 
prying,  posturing  Court  bowed  to  her  decision. 

If  Queen  Yolande  clothed  the  maid  in  shining 
armour  within  the  great  Hall  of  Audience  of  Angers 
Castle,  on  the  eve  of  the  advance  upon  Orleans, 
Queen  Marie  knelt  with  her  in  prayer  in  the  solemn 
choir  of  Angers  Cathedral  from  Vespers  to  Compline. 
How  much  of  her  strength  of  will  and  the  prompt- 
ness of  her  action  Jeanne  d'Arc  gained  from  the 
whole-hearted  favour  of  these  two  good  Queens  the 
world  may  never  know,  but  this  much  we  all  can 
apprehend  :  that  unselfish  human  sympathy  is  a  more 

mobile  force  than  the  uncertainties  of  Providence.  ' 

13 


192    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

We  can  never  know  why  Queen  Marie  was  denied 
the  satisfaction  of  witnessing  and  sharing  in  the 
coronation  of  Charles  at  Reims.  She  was  living 
quietly  at  Bourges  when  the  King  set  off  for  the 
metropolitical  cathedral  under  the  conduct  of  La 
Pucelle  and  of  her  brother  Rene.  She  was  prepared 
for  the  expedition,  and  her  robes  of  state  were  ready 
for  the  ceremony,  when  suddenly  Charles  commanded 
her  to  remain  where  she  was,  saying  that  the  march 
was  full  of  dangers  and  quite  impossible  for  the  Queen 
and  her  ladies.  La  Pucelle  begged  the  King  to 
recall  his  prohibitions,  saying  that  Queen  Marie  was 
quite  as  worthy  as  was  he  to  receive  a  crown.  The 
poor  Queen  put  by  her  finery, — perhaps  not  altogether 
sorrowfully, — and  went  to  reflect  awhile  at  Gien  upon 
the  untowardness  of  human  affairs  in  general  and  the 
inconsequences  of  Charles  in  particular.  Her  parting 
with  Jeanne  was  affecting  ;  Queen  and  peasant  em- 
braced each  other  affectionately — and  never  more 
they  met. 

II. 

After  the  disastrous  battle  of  Bulgneville,  Duchess 
Isabelle  of  Lorraine  set  off  to  Vienne  in  Dauphine",  a 
province  which  ever  remained  faithful  to  the  royal 
house  of  France,  where  the  Court  of  Charles  VII. 
was  established,  to  claim  his  aid  for  her  captive 
husband  languishing  at  Bracon.  In  her  train  went 
her  fairest  Maid  of  Honour,  Agnes  Sorel,  just  twenty 
years  of  age  ;  she  was  Mistress  of  the  Robes  to  the 
Duchess.  She  made  an  immediate  impression  upon 
the  jejune  King,  who  urged  Isabelle  to  allow  her  to 
be  transferred  to  the  suite  of  his  consort — perhaps  by 
way  of  quid  pro  qyo.  Queen  Marie  added  her 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  193 

entreaties  to  the  monarch's  suit.  She  had  failed 
completely  to  rouse  her  husband  ;  perhaps  she 
thought  Agnes  would  be  more  successful.  The 
Duchess  would  not  hear  of  the  arrangement,  and  the 
beauteous  Maid  of  Honour  was  anything  but  eager  to 
be  the  creature  of  so  unattractive  a  master. 

Happier  days,  however,  dawned  both  for  King 
Rene  and  for  King  Charles,  and  jousts,  pageants,  and 
mystery-plays,  were  in  full  fling  everywhere.  At 
Angers,  in  particular,  everything  was  gay  and  merry 
for  the  welcome  of  King  Rene  to  his  ancestral  home, 
— after  his  duress  at  Tour  de  Bar, — and  of  Queen 
Isabelle.  Agnes  Sorel  was  still  attached  to  her  royal 
mistress,  and,  although  unmarried,  she  numbered  her 
lovers  by  the  score. 

Agnes  Sorel,  or  Soreau,  was  born  at  Fromenteau, 
on  the  verge  of  the  forest  of  Fontainebleau,  on 
May  17,  1409.  Her  father  was  the  Sieur  Jehan 
Soreau,  and  her  mother  Catherine  de  Maignelais,  who 
were  quiet  country  people  and  occupied  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  She  had  a  younger  sister,  Jehanne,  to 
whom  she  was  devoted,  and  mothered  her  when  Dame 
Catherine  died.  Her  uncle,  Raoul  de  Maignelais, 
followed  the  profession  of  arms,  and  made  himself  a 
name  as  a  dauntless  warrior  in  the  service  of  King 
Charles  VI.  He  had  an  only  daughter,  Antoinette, 
born  1420,  who,  her  mother  dying  when  she  was 
very  young,  was  confided  to  the  care  of  her  aunt, 
Catherine  Soreau,  and  was  brought  up  by  her  with 
her  own  little  daughters.  Nothing  is  positively 
known  about  Agnes's  girlhood,  but  in  1423  the  two 
cousins  entered  the  service  of  Isabelle,  the  Duchess 
of  Bar-Lorraine.  Bar-le-Duc,  ever  since  the  advent  of 
the  famous  Countess  lolande,  had  been  remarkable  for 


194    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

the  number  of  lovely  damsels  and  comely  youths 
from  all  parts  of  France  attached  to  the  "  Court  of 
Love,"  under  the  patronage  and  maintenance  of  the 
Dukes  and  Duchesses.  The  young  Duchess  appears 
to  have  taken  a  particular  fancy  to  fair  Agnes,  due 
no  doubt  to  the  girl's  physical  beauty  and  mental 
brilliance.  Few  maidens  at  that  merry  Court 
excelled  her  in  good  looks,  grace  of  figure,  and 
distinction  of  deportment.  Bourdigne,  the  Court 
chronicler,  says  "  she  was  the  most  lovely  girl  in 
France."  She  sang  divinely, — a  natural  gift, — and 
danced  bewitchingly,  and  gave  promise  of  a  splendid 
career.  She  was  welcomed  at  Chinon  with  delight 
both  by  the  King  and  Queen. 

Perhaps  one  reason  why  Agnes's  presence  was  so 
grateful  to  the  taciturn  and  indolent  monarch  was 
that  she  dressed  so  superbly,  and  yet  so  tastefully. 
The  Queen  and  her  ladies  were  subject  to  strict 
Court  sartorial  conventions,  but  the  Demoiselle  de 
Fromenteau  knew  no  such  restrictions.  One  day 
" la  Belle  des  Belles"  as  everybody  called  her, 
appeared  as  "  Cleopatra,"  another  as  "  Diana,"  and 
a  third  as  "  Venus,"  and  so  on.  Her  costumes  were 
of  the  richest  and  the  thinnest.  Her  abundant 
beautiful  brown  hair,  too,  she  dressed  not  only  for 
the  hennin  a  la  mode, — bunched  over  the  ears  or 
gathered  into  a  chignon, — but  d  la  calotte  galonnee : 
frizzed  out,  or  en  simple  re'sille — in  a  net,  or  a  tours, 
thrown  round  and  round  her  head  in  massive  coils. 
Agnes  was  short  of  stature,  but  she  made  up  for 
this  by  wearing  Venetian  zilve,  or  high  pattens, 
beautifully  embroidered  with  silk  and  pearls.  Her 
decolUtage  was  never  vulgar  or  immodest,  like  that 
of  the  King's  mother,  but  her  well-formed  bust  was 


KING   RENK    AND   HIS   COURT 
From  a  Miniature  by  King  Rene  in  his  "  Breviary."    Musee  de  1' Arsenal,  Paris 

To. face  page  194 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  195 

covered  lightly  by  white  lace  or  thinnest  gauze.  A 
string  of  pearls  usually  embraced  her  well-shaped 
throat.  One  article  of  clothing  was  peculiarly  her 
own  invention.  Whilst  the  ladies  of  the  Court,  and 
even  Queen  Marie  herself,  wore  serge  chemises,  hers 
were  of  fine  Flemish  linen.  Very  many  of  her 
tasteful  fancies  were  taken  up  by  the  ladies  about 
her,  and  Queen  Marie  herself  followed  suit  by  dis- 
carding the  daily  use  of  the  hennin  and  the  stiff  and 
heavy  fur  borders  of  her  kirtle.  She,  too,  had  hair 
as  fair  as  that  of  Agnes,  and  she  was  privately  quite 
as  proud  of  it  as  was  her  Dame  d'Honneur,  for  so  "  la 
Belle  des  Belles  "  had  become. 

A  pretty  story  is  told  of  "  la  Belle  des  Belles " 
with  respect  to  the  melancholy  moods  of  King 
Charles.  One  day  Charles  was  more  than  usually 
depressed,  and,  try  how  she  would,  Queen  Marie 
could  not  cheer  him  ;  so  she  sent  for  Agnes,  who  at 
once  ran  to  her  mistress,  and,  then  entering  the 
King's  presence,  knelt  at  his  feet  and  fondled  his 
knees.  "  Sire,"  she  said,  "  when  I  was  a  very  little 
girl  a  soothsayer  told  my  mother  that  I  should  be 
the  plaything  of  a  King  who  would  be  the  most 
valiant  in  Europe.  I  thought  that  your  Majesty 
was  such  an  one,  but  I  find  that  I  am  mistaken. 
Perhaps  I  ought  to  have  sought  the  Court  of  Henry 
rather  than  that  of  Charles !"  The  King  frowned, 
but  the  bantering  words  had  struck  home,  and  he 
raised  himself  and  Agnes,  and,  kissing  her  affection- 
ately, replied  :  "  No,  my  sweet,  you  have  no  need  to 
seek  Henry.  I  am  your  valiant  King !" 

Agnes  held  Charles  under  a  spell.  She  was  his 
"  Queen  of  Hearts  ";  he  denied  her  nothing,  her  will 
was  his.  Her  influence  was  complete,  and  if  the 


196    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

poor  neglected  Queen  had  thrown  upon  her  frail 
shoulders  the  heavy  weight  of  sovereignty,  it  was 
fond  Agnes's  fair  hair  that  wore  the  light  crown  of 
gaiety.  Her  tact  and  unselfishness  were  remarkable  ; 
every  domestic  squabble  and  every  State  imbroglio 
were  quietly  and  swiftly  settled  when  she  joined  the 
fray.  Charles  could  not  do  enough  for  his  sweet- 
heart. Besides  costly  presents  of  jewellery  and 
clothes,  he  bestowed  upon  her  the  county  of  Pen- 
thievre,  the  lordships  of  Roquecesiere,  Issoudon,  and 
Vernon,  with  the  Castle  of  Breaute  and  its  great 
woods  of  pine-trees. 

Agnes  had  by  Charles  four  daughters  ;  the 
youngest  died  in  infancy,  but  the  rest  grew  up,  like 
their  mother,  famed  for  good  looks  and  attractive 
manners,  and  were  legitimatized  and  married  well. 
Catherine  de  France,  the  eldest,  wedded,  in  1464, 
Jacques  de  Breze,  Comte  de  Maulevrier,  and  became 
the  accomplished  chatelaine  of  his  splendid  castle  near 
Saumur.  Alas  for  the  joys  of  married  life !  the 
Count,  himself  unfaithful  and  intolerant,  grew 
suspicious  of  his  wife's  conduct, — she  had  attracted 
the  attention  of  King  Rene",  among  others, — accused 
her  of  adultery,  and  stabbed  her  as  she  was  sallying 
forth  one  dark  November  day,  1477,  bent  upon  an 
errand  of  charity.  Their  son,  Louis  de  Breze, 
became  the  husband  of  the  celebrated  Diane  de 
Poitiers,  in  1572,  before  her  liaison  with  King 
Henry  II.  Marguerite  de  France  married,  in  1458, 
Seigneur  Olivier  de  Coetivi,  and  died  in  1473  ;  and 
Jeanne  de  France  became  the  wife  of  Antoine  de 
Benil,  Comte  de  Sancerre,  and  received  from  the 
King,  her  father,  a  dot  of  40,000  ecus  tf'or. 

These  three  daughters  were  born  and  educated  as 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  197 

Princesses  of  the  Royal  House,  in  conformity  with 
the  existent  code  of  morals.  Queen  Marie  not  only 
made  no  demur  at  their  status,  but,  acting  upon  the 
advice  of  good  Queen  Yolande,  her  mother,  treated 
them  in  every  respect  as  she  did  her  own  offspring. 
When  Agnes's  second  daughter  was  married,  the 
Queen  stood  by  her  and  gave  her  rich  wedding 
presents.  Certainly  she  was  not  subjected  to  the 
indignity  of  sharing  hearth  and  home  with  her 
husband's  mistress.  Dame  Agnes  Sorel  resided  at 
her  own  Castle  de  Breaute-sur-Marne,  and  there  she 
bore  him  her  family.  The  castle  was  a  bijou  resi- 
dence,— a  great  favourite  of  Charles, — and  Agnes 
made  it  a  habitation  of  beauty,  adorned  not  alone  by 
her  own  gracious  presence,  but  by  the  attendance  of 
a  brilliant  Court,  quite  outrivalling  that  of  the  modest 
Queen,  and  filled  her  rooms  and  galleries  with  the 
countless  beautiful  and  costly  gifts  of  her  former 
devoted  mistress,  Duchess  Isabelle. 

Agnes's  ascendancy  over  Charles  VII.  was  purely 
erotic.  She  exercised  no  influence  whatever  upon 
the  affairs  of  state,  or,  indeed,  upon  anything  but  what 
ministered  to  his  personal  pleasure  and  amusement. 
However,  she  was  useful,  and  indeed  invaluable,  on 
more  than  one  occasion  of  danger  and  suspicion. 
Unreservedly  devoted  to  her  paramour,  she  was 
sensitive  of  any  dereliction  of  duty  and  of  any 
appearance  of  intrigue.  To  her  was  solely  due  the 
detection  of  the  conspiracy  of  1449,  which,  fomented 
by  the  Dauphin,  threatened  the  life  of  the  King. 

Marie  inspired  the  fervent  love  of  her  son,  Louis 
the  Dauphin,  as  she  did,  in  truth,  the  devotion  of  all 
her  children.  When  a  stripling  of  fourteen,  he 
championed  his  mother  against  his  father's  mistress  ; 


198    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

and  when  Agnes  made  a  disparaging  remark  affect- 
ing the  Queen,  the  lad  immediately  boxed  her  ears, 
and  warned  her  never  to  repeat  the  offence  in  his 
hearing  !  From  that  day  Louis  hated  "  la  Belle  des 
Belles,"  and  never  tired  of  checking  her  assumptions. 
He  even  dared  to  protest  personally  before  his  father 
against  the  King's  neglect  of  the  Queen  and  his 
partiality  for  her  Lady  of  Honour.  Charles  on  one 
occasion  took  his  son's  strictures  seriously  to  heart, 
sent  for  Marie,  bewailed  his  infidelity,  and  craved  her 
pardon.  But  the  wanton  monarch's  day  of  righteous- 
ness was  short,  for  he  very  soon  forgot  his  son's 
vehemence,  and  went  on  fondling  his  favourite. 

"  La  Belle  des  Belles "  died  in  childbed  on 
February  18,  1450.  Her  end  was  quite  unexpected, 
for  she  had  gone  on  a  visit  of  pleasure  to  her  cousin, 
Antoinette  de  Maignelais,  the  Baroness  of  Ville- 
requier,  at  the  Castle  of  Mesnil  la  Belle,  near  the 
far-famed  Abbey  of  Jumieges  in  Normandy.  Her 
husband,  Andre  de  Villerequier,  was  Chamberlain  to 
Charles  VII.,  who  presented  her  at  her  bridal,  as  a 
wedding  gift,  the  three  islands,  Oleron,  Marennes, 
and  Auvert,  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Charente. 
Floral  games  and  spectacles  were  engaging  the 
attention  of  the  merry  party  assembled  at  the 
castle,  and  Agnes  Sorel  was  the  gayest  of  the  gay, 
but  unfortunately,  tripping  upon  the  sash  of  her 
gown,  she  fell  heavily  to  the  ground.  She  was 
carried  tenderly  to  her  chamber,  and  at  once  her  life 
was  despaired  of.  She  had  barely  time  to  make  her 
confession,  and  then,  calling  to  mind  the  example 
of  St.  Mary  Magdalene,  she  called  aloud  to  Heaven 
for  pardon  of  her  sins  and  for  the  prayers  of  those 
standing  by.  She  heard  Mass  and  received  the  Last 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  199 

Sacraments,  and  painfully  passed  away  in  her  cousin's 
arms.  The  distracted  Baroness  laid  the  dead  head 
of  the  lovely  Agnes  gently  upon  the  pillow,  closed 
the  eyes  which  had  spell-bound  King  Charles  and 
many  more  besides,  and,  weeping  bitterly,  exclaimed  : 
"  The  good  God  has  taken  away  my  Agnes  because 
He  feared  she  would  never  lose  her  beauty." 

King  Charles  was  not  with  his  sweetheart  in  her 
death,  but  he  grieved  and  rocked  himself  in  woe. 
"  Because  she  was  what  she  was,"  he  sobbed,  "  for 
that  I  mourn."  He  hastened  to  Jumieges,  and 
with  every  mark  of  sincere  affection  he  assisted  in 
placing  his  Agnes  in  her  coffin.  Her  heart  he  had 
enclosed  in  a  costly  gold  vase,  which  he  carried 
about  with  him  wherever  he  went,  and  when  he 
died  it  was  deposited  by  his  command  beneath  a 
black  marble  slab  in  front  of  the  high-altar  of 
Jumieges,  with  the  simple  epitaph  :  "  Agnes  Seurelle 
— Dame  de  Breaute."  Fair  Agnes's  body,  still 
comely  in  death,  was  ultimately  translated  by  Charles 
to  Loches,  and  interred  in  the  basement  of  the  King's 
Apartments.  Her  tomb,  surmounted  by  a  statue, 
was  erected  by  her  royal  lover.  Upon  a  block  marble 
bed  reclines  a  white  marble  effigy  of  "la  Belle  des 
Belles"  evidently  sculptured  after  life.  The  fascina- 
ting features  with  her  sweet  smile  are  beautifully 
chiselled,  and  the  graceful  figure  lightly  covered  by 
a  long  chemise  admirably  exhibits  her  exquisitely- 
proportioned  form. 

Agnes,  in  a  will  she  made  a  year  before  her 
death,  directed  that  her  body  should  rest  at  Jumieges, 
and  she  bequeathed  1,000  ecus  d'or  (  =  £500)  to 
the  monastery  for  Masses  for  the  rest  of  her  soul. 
She  had  for  years  been  a  munificent  benefactress  to 


200    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

the  clergy  of  the  abbey.  When  Charles  had  joined 
his  sweetheart  in  the  Paradise  of  Love,  the  ungrate- 
ful monks  were  desirous  of  removing  Agnes's  heart 
and  its  memorial  tablet,  on  the  score  that  she  had 
led  an  immoral  life  ;  but  Louis  XL,  in  spite  of  his 
fierce  hatred  of  his  father's  mistress,  reproved  the 
religious,  and  warned  them  that,  if  they  determined 
to  cast  out  her  remains,  they  must  also  divest  them- 
selves of  the  gifts  and  legacies  of  their  patroness. 
"  If  you,"  the  new  King  said,  "  disturb  her  ashes,  I 
shall  expect  you  to  hand  over  to  me  the  gold  ecus." 
Needless  perhaps  to  say,  the  worldly-wise  Canons 
kept  the  money  and  the  heart. 

The  death  of  Agnes  Sorel  had  a  terrible  effect  upon 
the  subsequent  life  of  Charles  the  King.  She  and 
Queen  Marie  between  them  had  managed  to  keep 
him  free  from  amorous  imbroglios,  but  now,  with 
only  his  wife's  protestations  to  guard  him,  he  gave 
way  to  immoderate  indulgences,  and  he,  to  quote  the 
French, — "  enlardit  sa  vie  de  tenir  males  femmes  en 
son  hostel !" 

III. 

"  Everything  must  be  sacrificed  for  the  glory  of 
France  !"  was  no  empty,  echoing  cry  in  a  desert  ;  it 
was  the  pleading  and  persistent  cry  of  a  devoted 
wife  and  a  patriotic  Queen.  Into  the  ears  of  the 
King  of  France  and  into  the  ears  of  everybody  who 
was  even  in  the  smallest  degree  likely  to  be  able 
to  do  anything  at  all  for  her  beloved  country,  the 
admirable  Queen  Marie  poured  her  complaint.  She 
stood  for  the  expulsion  of  the  English  invaders  of 
her  native  soil,  and  for  the  composure  of  the  feuds 
and  jealousies  of  the  French  Sovereigns  and  nobles. 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  201 

"  God  and  reason,"  she  went  on  to  exclaim,  "  are  on 
my  side  ;  rouse  you  like  men  and  fight !"  Surely  he 
is  a  coward  or  a  simpleton  in  whose  heart  a  woman's 
voice  and  a  woman's  taunts  fail  to  enkindle  en- 
thusiasm. All  France  flocked  to  do  homage  to  the 
"  little  Queen  of  Bourges,"  to  kiss  her  hand,  and  to 
lay  their  swords  at  the  feet  of  the  King.  From 
Loches  to  Chinon  and  Tours,  right  down  the  river 
valley  of  the  Rhone,  and  throughout  Dauphine,  that 
voice  went  echoing.  The  new  campaign  was  hers, 
hers  the  credit,  hers  the  glory,  for  great  deeds  were 
done  that  shamed  men's  apathy. 

Alas  !  her  enthusiasm  found  faint  response  in 
Charles.  A  skit  of  the  time  denounced  him  thus  : 
"  Nouvelle  du  Roy  nullement ;  ne  que  se  il  fust  a 
Rom/me  one  Jherusalemme !" — "  The  King  is  of  no 
use  whatever ;  he  might  as  well  be  at  Home  or  at 
Jerusalem  !"  Still,  the  Queen  did  not  fail  for  loyal 
soldiers  nor  for  consummate  captains  ;  first  and  fore- 
most was  her  beloved  brother  Rene,  now  King  of 
Sicily- Anjou. 

But  now  enemies  more  terrible  than  the  hated 
English,  more  insidious  than  the  squabbling  Princes, 
stalked  the  broad  plains  of  suffering  France — the 
three  fell  sisters,  famine,  flood,  and  fever.  The  price 
of  foodstuffs  rose  portentously  ;  wheat,  butter,  oil, 
and  cheese,  were  a  hundred  times  dearer  than  their 
usual  cost.  Men  grovelled  like  pigs  for  offal,  and 
women  and  children  laid  themselves  down  to  die 
just  where  they  were.  Queen  Marie's  tender  heart 
grieved  sorely  for  her  people's  misery.  She  sold 
what  jewellery  she  had  left,  and  pawned  her  available 
property  to  minister  to  the  prevailing  want.  And 
then  a  new  terror  seized  the  land — the  rivers  were 


202    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

in  flood,  and  what  stocks  and  crops  the  famine  had 
left  were  washed  away,  and  beggary  stared  the 
nation  in  the  face.  The  Queen  instituted  pilgrimages 
of  women  to  celebrated  shrines,  and  she  herself  put 
on  the  deepest  mourning  and  spent  her  time  in 
prayer.  All  seemed  to  be  of  no  avail  to  stay  the 
afflicting  hand  of  Heaven,  for  no  sooner  were  the 
waters  abated  than  the  scourge  of  fever  was  let  loose 
on  the  devoted  land  of  France,  and  corpses  were 
flung  out  of  echoing  doorways  and  left  for  chance 
burial,  or  to  be  the  prey  of  scavaging  dogs.  Had 
the  Day  of  Judgment  dawned  ?  men  asked  each  other, 
whilst  they  promptly  covered  their  mouths  against 
the  infection.  Delirium  would  have  seized  all  the 
remnants  of  the  population  had  not  the  intrepid 
Queen  ridden  up  and  down,  risking  her  own  precious 
life  and  appealing  to  one  and  all  to  be  courageous, 
bear  all,  and  hope  for  better  days. 

Marie  had  happy  days  and  proud  to  cancel  days 
of  gloom  and  penury.  Toulouse  was  en  fete. ;  it  was 
the  month  of  May,  1435,  best  loved  of  all  the 
children  of  Mary ;  and  she  made  a  stately  entry 
into  that  ancient,  loyal  city  with  the  King  by  her 
side.  Oddly  enough,  she  was  mounted  on  pillion 
behind  her  young  son,  the  Dauphin  Louis,  then  a  lad 
of  twelve.  Her  vesture  was  superb — a  blue  brocaded 
satin  robe,  bordered  heavily  with  royal  ermine.  She 
was  de'colletee,  her  bosom  covered  with  jewels  and 
chains  of  gold.  Upon  her  head,  rising  out  of  a 
regal  diadem  of  flashing  gems,  she  wore  a  chaperon, 
a  hood  of  fine  white  cambric  shaped  like  a  crescent, 
raised  at  the  points,  and  lightly  covered  with  a  thin 
white  gauze  veil.  Her  hair  was  bunched  over  her 
ears,  and  carried  in  a  golden  jewelled  net.  Her  feet 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  203 

were  shod  in  white,  gold-embroidered  kid,  and  she 
wore,  after  her  mother's  fashion,  jewelled  white  kid 
gloves.  Four  Chamberlains,  also  mounted,  held  a 
state  canopy  of  cloth  of  gold  and  white  plumes  over 
their  royal  mistress  and  her  white  charger. 

A  bright  day  dawned  for  Queen  Marie.  It  was 
the  Festival  of  the  Forerunner,  June  24,  1436,  and 
the  ancient  and  loyal  city  of  Tours  was  decked  for  the 
royal  nuptials  of  the  Dauphin.  The  King  and  Queen 
of  France  with  the  good  Queen  Yolande  and  their 
suite  awaited  at  the  Chateau  du  Plessis-les-Tours 
the  arrival  of  the  young  bridal  couple.  Louis  had 
gone  to  meet  his  bride  at  Saumur ;  he  was  but  a  boy 
of  thirteen,  small,  ill-looking,  and  not  too  clever. 
Princess  Margaret,  daughter  of  James  I.  of  Scotland, 
with  a  following  of  Scottish  nobles  and  Maids  of 
Honour,  a  tall,  sprightly  girl  of  twelve,  vastly  enjoyed 
her  voyage,  and  clapped  her  hands  delightedly  at  the 
flowers  and  fruits  of  Anjou.  She  embraced  her  little 
husband-to-be,  and  took  him  by  the  hand  as  they 
stepped  on  board  the  state  barge  in  waiting  at  the 
river  quay. 

Among  the  bevy  of  fair  maidens  who  welcomed 
the  royal  bride  was  Jehanne  de  Laval,  who  was 
attached  to  the  suite  of  the  Dauphiness.  The  grand 
hall  of  the  castle  and  state-rooms  were  hung  with 
tapestry  and  lengths  of  cloth  of  gold.  There  the 
Sovereigns  were  seated  on  a  canopied  dais,  wearing 
their  crowns  and  robes  of  state.  The  little  Princess 
entered  the  Presence  somewhat  nervously,  still  hold- 
ing the  hand  of  the  young  Dauphin,  and  chaperoned 
by  her  Scottish  Mistress  of  the  Robes.  Making  a 
graceful  obeisance,  Margaret  advanced  with  childlike 
confidence,  and  Queen  Marie,  rising,  went  to  greet 


204    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

her  young  daughter-in-law  ;  she  embraced  her 
tenderly,  and  introduced  her  to  the  King  and  to 
Queen  Yolande.  The  courtiers  pressed  forward  to 
kiss  the  Princess's  hand,  and  many  costly  gifts 
were  laid  at  her  feet.  Wearied  at  length  with  the 
ceremonies,  Queen  Marie  conducted  her  interesting 
visitor  to  her  own  apartments,  where  dinner  was 
served. 

The  bells  of  all  the  churches  in  Tours  set  up  merry 
j anglings  at  dawn  next  day,  and  the  cathedral  was 
crowded  by  a  goodly  company  of  wedding  guests. 
The  King  and  the  two  Queens  were  seated  on  their 
thrones.  Charles  wore  a  black  velvet  doublet  and 
hose,  his  berretta  was  of  red,  and  he  bore  round  his 
neck  a  decoration  sent  from  the  King  of  Scotland. 
The  Queen  was  arrayed  in  crimson  velvet  and  ermine. 
She  wore  an  abbreviated  hennin  with  a  fine  lace 
fall ;  her  hair  was  embroidered  with  gold.  The 
young  Prince  was  in  blue  and  silver,  his  bride  in 
bridal  white.  Everybody  bore  wedding  favours — 
Scottish  heather  and  French  lilies  entwined  with 
white  satin  ribbons.  The  Archbishop  of  Reims  per- 
formed the  ceremony,  accompanied  by  a  number  of 
Bishops  and  dignified  clergy. 

Margaret  at  once  became  a  great  favourite  with 
the  King  and  Queen.  Her  Northern  vigour  and 
sweet  manners  were  good  credentials  ;  but,  unhappily, 
the  young  bridegroom  from  the  first  took  a  dislike 
to  his  consort.  She  was  never  happy  when  he  was 
present,  and  her  furtive  eyes  searched  in  vain  for 
tokens  of  affection  and  camaraderie.  "  There  was 
no  one,"  wrote  Philippe  de  Commines  a  few  years 
later,  "  in  all  the  world  whom  she  dreaded  more  than 
the  Dauphin."  Her  life  was  indeed  a  sad  one ; 


B      B 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  205 

neglected  by  her  husband,  misunderstood  and  dis- 
esteemed  at  Court,  the  poor  young  Dauphiness  passed 
her  time  mostly  with  Queen  Marie  and  in  futile 
regrets  for  her  dear,  dear  home  in  Scotland. 

Her  death  came  about  most  unexpectedly,  for  she 
was  discovered  poisoned, — rumour  had  it  by  her 
spouse, — in  her  boudoir  at  Sarry-le-Chateau,  on 
August  16,  1444,  an  ill-used  wife  of  no  more  than 
twenty  years  of  age.  Princess  Margaret's  fate  was 
as  sad  as  sad  could  be — too  young  to  die.  Her  last 
words, — the  most  pathetic  ever  uttered  by  an 
unhappy  woman, — were  addressed  to  her  faithful 
chaperon :  "A  curse  on  life !  don't  speak  to  me 
about  it !"  No  child,  perhaps  happily,  was  born  of 
that  ill-starred  marriage. 

No  one  wept  more  bitterly  at  this  mischance  than 
tender-hearted  Queen  Marie.  She  loved  her  son  to 
distraction,  and  he  loved  her  as  greatly  in  return  ; 
and  she  had  learned  to  love  Margaret  too,  but 
nothing  that  she  could  say  moved  Louis  to  love, 
honour,  and  comfort,  his  young  wife.  Calm,  crafty, 
and  selfish,  like  his  father,  and  vindictive,  Louis's 
character  may  be  succinctly  stated  as  he  himself 
wrote  it :  "  The  King  knows  not  how  to  rule  who 
knows  not  how  to  dissemble.  ...  If  my  cap  should 
know  my  thoughts,  I  would  burn  it !" 

Queen  Marie's  other  son,  Charles,  Due  de  Berry, 
the  last  of  all  her  surviving  children,  born  December 
28,  1446,  was  a  Prince  of  no  strength  of  character. 
Easily  led  by  others,  he  became  involved  in  endless 
imbrooiios.  and  aided  and  abetted  his  elder  brother 

O  ' 

the  Dauphin,  in  his  unfilial  conduct  towards  their 
father.  Created  Duke  of  Guienne  and  Duke  of 
Normandy  in  1469, — after  the  expulsion  of  the 


206     REN6  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

English, — he  was  a  source  of  constant  anxiety  and 
trouble  to  his  mother.  The  Queen  of  Sicily- Anjou, 
Isabel le  de  Lorraine,  his  godmother,  with  King 
Rene",  took  the  young  Prince  in  hand,  but  he  did 
not  well  repay  their  solicitude.  Immoral,  dissipated, 
and  in  debt,  Charles  de  Berry  spent  his  time  in 
debauches  and  intrigues ;  he  was  own  grandson  of 
Isabeau  the  Infamous.  Among  his  many  mistresses, 
Derouillee  de  Montereau,  widow  of  Louis  d'Amboise, 
exercised  the  greatest  influence.  She,  too,  was  the 
cause  of  his  death,  for  at  lunch  one  day  she  placed 
a  peach  in  his  wineglass,  and  she  challenged  Charles 
to  bite  the  fruit  with  her.  Her  half  she  swallowed, 
and  she  fell  dead  in  a  few  minutes,  whilst  her  royal 
paramour  lingered  in  acute  suffering  for  three  whole 
days,  and  at  last  succumbed  to  the  poison  on  May  28, 
1472.  Whether  she  caused  the  fruit  to  be  poisoned 
we  know  not ;  most  likely  she  knew  all  about  it,  and 
only  followed  in  the  steps  of  those  whose  immorality 
turns  love  to  hate  and  sanctity  to  madness.  This 
was  a  characteristic  of  society  in  the  Renaissance,  the 
cloven  hoof  of  the  old  Adam  showing  beneath  the 
sumptuous  garments  of  the  new  man. 

As  might  very  well  have  been  expected  at  a  Court 
of  self-seekers  and  sycophants,  the  integrity  and  un- 
selfishness of  the  Queen  were  goads  to  slander  and 
aids  to  hypocrisy.  She  was  assailed  on  account  of 
her  absolute  faithfulness  to  the  marriage  bond  and  for 
her  want  of  personal  ambition.  Roue's  could  not 
understand  her  ;  mondaines  would  not  tolerate  her ; 
the  King's  favourites  and  mistresses, — not  Agnes 
Sorel,  be  it  said, — strove  all  they  could  to  poison  his 
mind  against  his  consort.  The  names  of  many 
prominent  Princes  and  courtiers  were  linked  scandal- 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  207 

ously  with  the  Queen's.  Arthur  de  Bichemont,  son 
of  Duke  Jehan  VI.  of  Brittany,  the  Constable  of 
France  ;  Pierre  de  Giac  de  la  Tremouille,  Captain  of 
the  King's  Guards  ;  Etienne  Louvet,  President  of  the 
Privy  Council ;  and  the  Count  of  Dunois,  better 
known  as  the  "  Bastard  of  Orleans,"  were  all  said  to 
have  shared  the  Queen's  confidences  and  her  favours. 
The  latter  was  thrown,  indeed,  very  much  with  Her 
Majesty,  and  ranked  among  the  Princes  of  the  Royal 
House.  Son  of  the  assassinated  Duke  of  Orleans  by 
an  unknown  mother,  the  Duchess  brought  him  up 
along  with  her  own  children,  and  she  hoped  he  would 
live  to  avenge  his  father's  death.  The  "  Bastard  " 
was  the  playmate  of  the  children  of  King  Louis  II. 
of  Sicily-Anjou  and  Queen  Yolande,  and  he  and 
the  Princess  Marie  were  much  drawn  to  one 
another. 

The  two  young  people  were  one  day  in  the  gardens 
of  the  Hotel  de  St.  Pol  along  with  the  Cointe  de 
Ponthieu, — Charles  VII., — and  the  Princes  and  Prin- 
cesses of  Sicily-Anjou,  when  the  Count,  wearied  of 
his  forced  attentions  to  the  Princess  Marie,  sauntered 
away  by  himself.  Xaintrailles  followed  him  and 
remonstrated  with  him  for  his  coolness  to  his  fiancee. 
Charles  replied  that  they  were  not  fully  betrothed, 
and  that  he  did  not  admire  and  did  not  love  Marie. 
Xaintrailles  told  Dunois  what  the  Count  had  said,  and 
Dunois,  with  a  scornful  laugh,  exclaimed :  "  One 
must  be  dull  and  blind  indeed  not  to  be  smitten  by 
her  eyes — the  most  beautiful  eyes  in  the  whole  world, 
and  quite  incapable  of  seeing  the  faults  of  others." 
Dunois  was  very  much  in  love  with  the  Princess,  and 
did  not  conceal  his  passion,  so  much  so  that  when  he 
kissed  her  hand,  as  he  often  did,  he  also  lifted  the 

14 


208    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

hem   of  her  skirt  and  implanted  a  kiss  there,  as  a 
lover's  token  of  humility. 

Dunois  contrived  tStes-a-tete  as  often  as  he  could 
with  his  sweetheart,  as  he  called  Marie  d'Anjou. 
One  day,  it  is  said,  Charles  passed  down  a  sheltered 
path  in  the  gardens,  and  his  companion  pointed  out 
to  him  a  couple  love-making  in  a  secluded  arbour. 
They  chided  him  with  the  feebleness  of  his  suit,  and 
told  him  it  would  serve  him  right  if  Marie  married 
Dunois.  He  said  he  did  not  care  a  bit  if  she  did  or 
if  she  did  not.  They  were  all  mere  children — the 
Count  sixteen,  Marie  fifteen,  and  Dunois  of  a  like 
age.  The  intimacy  between  the  Princess  and  her 
lover  became  embarrassing  to  the  whole  Court,  but 
time  went  on,  and  developments  were  awaited  by  the 
curious  and  intriguing.  A  summer's  day  came  when 
some  ladies  of  the  Court  went  wandering  about 
searching  for  shady  shelters.  Right  away  from  the 
palace,  near  a  springing  fountain,  they  came  upon  a 
crossing  in  the  path,  and  there  in  the  sandy  dust 
they  read,  written  by  a  stick  or  something  : 

"  Destin  qui  va  m'unir  d'une  dternelle  chaine 

A  I'objed  de  ma  haine — 
Cruel  destiny  arrache  de  mon  cceur 
Une  trop  vive  ardeur."  * 

Puzzling  over  the  meaning  of  this  strange  verse, 
the  ladies  beheld  the  Princess  hastening  to  where 
they  stood.  With  heightened  colour  she  asked  them  : 
"  What  are  you  doing  here  ?  Why  are  you  not  with 
the  Queen  of  Sicily  ?"  Then  effacing  the  writing 

*  "  Fate  which  would  rivet  me  with  a  perpetual  chain 

To  the  object  of  my  deep  disdain — 
O,  cruel  fate !  which  would  snatch  from  my  poor 

worn  heart 
A  passion  full  of  ardour  on  my  part." 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  209 

with  her  foot,  she  added  :  "I  cannot  think  why  I  did 
not  efface  those  words  ;  I  have  committed  an  indis- 
cretion. But  take  note  I  did  not  name  the  unhappy 
person  who  wrote  them."  The  romance  went  on  un- 
checked. Dunois,  still  under  age,  very  adroitly  con- 
trived to  remove  the  suspicions  his  conduct  had 
aroused  in  the  mind  of  Queen  Yolande,  and  Marie 
took  dutifully  and  silently  the  maternal  reproofs. 
Then  came  the  death  of  Charles  VI.,  and  Princess 
Marie  was  proclaimed  Queen  of  France.  With  more 
than  a  sigh, — almost  a  broken  heart, — she  set  herself 
to  play  her  part  as  a  virtuous  woman  and  as  a  loyal 
spouse.  Dunois  did  not  renounce  his  devotion  to  the 
Queen,  and  she  never  forgot  the  love  she  had  borne 
him — a  Prince  the  very  antithesis  of  her  husband, 
remarkable  for  personal  beauty  and  mental  accom- 
plishment, just  the  sort  of  man  all  women  love.  Daily 
she  poured  out  her  soul  before  the  altar  of  her  private 
chapel  for  strength  to  be  true  and  faithful,  and  victory 
was  hers  ;  but  it  cost  her  dear. 

"  Car  en  vertuewe  souffrance, 
Au  temps  du  commun  desarroy, 
Elle  a  nwnstre  plus  de  vaillance 
Que  sage  prince  on  fier  roy."  * 

This  fascinating  story  of  the  loves  of  Count  Dunois 
d'Orleans  and  Princess  Marie  d'Anjou  was  worked  up 
by  fanatics  into  a  culpable  liaison  of  the  Queen.  It 
grew  in  vile  misrepresentation,  and  swelled  in  garbled 
facts  until  it  became  abhorrent  in  the  ears  of  all 
decent-minded  people.  Some  of  Charles's  legitimate 

*  "  In  point  of  virtuous  suffering, 
At  times  of  deep  alarms, 
She  exhibited  more  daring 
Than  wise  prince  or  king  in  arms." 


210    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

children  were  said  to  have  been  fathered  by  the 
Count.  The  Queen  very  wisely  refrained  from 
making  replies  to  the  evil  stories,  the  only  sensible 
way  of  dealing  with  them.  "  Exempt,"  as  wrote 
Varillas,  "  not  only  from  the  faults  of  the  Court,  but 
still  more  from  suspicion  that  she  had  any  part 
therein,  she  had  all  the  same  to  suffer  from  the 
poison  of  calumny."  On  the  other  hand,  Marie 
suffered  in  patience  the  disdain  and  unfaithfulness  of 
the  King,  and  returned  his  evil  with  her  good.  Her 
entire  life  was  a  scene  of  sacrifice  and  an  arena  of 
benevolence. 

Marie,  in  her  quiet,  unobtrusive  way,  did  very 
much  for  the  correction  of  morals  in  Court  and 
country.  Due  to  her  representation,  Charles  at  Toul 
abolished  the  obscene  Fete  des  Fous,  which  was 
observed  through  his  dominions.  It  was  a  scandalous 
exhibition,  an  indecent  orgy,  shared  in  alike  by  laity 
and  clergy.  The  latter  chose  a  local  Pope  or  Bishop, 
to  whom  for  the  time  the  actual  Bishop  of  the 
diocese  rendered  up  the  attributes  of  his  office.  The 
mock  prelate  was  enthroned  in  the  cathedral,  and 
then  a  wild  scene  of  profanity  was  witnessed.  Men 
and  women  dressed  as  buffoons,  many  exposing  their 
nakedness  without  shame,  joined  in  licentious  dances 
and  blasphemous  songs,  and  gorged  themselves  with 
roast  pork  and  other  coarse  viands  and  intoxicating 
beverages  served  upon  the  altars.  In  the  holy 
censers  were  burnt  common  corks  and  bits  of  leather  ; 
the  holy-water  stoups  were  used  for  nameless  in- 
decencies ;  and  promiscuous  prostitution  made  each 
sacred  edifice  a  brothel  and  a  Gehenna. 

Early  in  the  year  1457  Ambassadors  from  Duke 
Ladislaus  of  Austria  came  to  France  to  ask  from 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  211 

Charles  VII.  the  hand  of  his  youngest  daughter, 
Madeleine,  a  girl  of  fourteen,  and  dowered  with 
beauty  if  not  with  wealth.  Passing  through  Lorraine 
and  Bar,  King  Rene  greeted  them,  entertained  them 
handsomely,  and  accompanied  them  to  Tours.  The 
King  and  Queen  of  France  were  at  the  castle  with 
their  three  daughters, — Jeanne  ;  Yolande,  the  wife  of 
Amadeo  IX.,  Duke  of  Savoy ;  and  Madeleine, — and 
a  numerous  and  distinguished  suite.  In  the  Grand 
Salle  twelve  long  tables  were  placed,  each  seating 
seven  guests.  At  the  first  were  the  two  Kings  and 
the  Queens  with  the  three  Princesses  and  the  Duke 
of  Savoy.  The  Masters  of  Ceremonies  were  the 
Counts  Gaston  de  Foix,  Dunois,  and  de  la  Marche, 
with  the  Grand  Seneschal  of  France.  It  was  a 
typical  entertainment — lavish,  long,  and  laborious. 
The  first  course  consisted  of  white  hypocras  and 
"rosties" — hors  d'ceuvres  (?) — served  in  crystal  vessels. 
The  second  course  offered  grands  pdtes  de  chapons 
&  haute  grasse,  with  boars'  tongues,  and  accompanied 
by  seven  kinds  of  soup — all  served  on  plates  of  silver. 
The  third  course  presented  all  kinds  of  game-birds 
with  venison  and  boars'  heads  served  on  silver  dishes. 
The  fourth  course  was  des  petites  oyseaux  on  toast 
and  spit,  with  prunes  and  salads,  set  forth  on  dishes 
of  silver  gilt.  The  fifth  course  consisted  of  tarts, 
orange  trifles,  candied  lemons,  and  many  sorts  of 
sweetmeats,  beautifully  arranged  on  plates  and  stands 
of  coloured  jewelled  glass.  The  sixth  and  last  course 
was  hypocras  again,  but  red,  served  with  oublies — 
perhaps  macaroons  and  wafers. 

The  wines  which  accompanied  this  regal  menu, 
unhappily,  are  not  mentioned  by  the  chronicler,  but 
the  name  of  Tours  in  connection  with  delicacies  of 


REN£  D' ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

the  palate  has  always  been  a  cachet  of  excellence  ; 
its  cuisine  and  its  cellars  are  still  unsurpassed  in 
France.  The  banquet  was  accompanied  by  minstrelsy 
and  masque.  King  Rene"  himself  arranged  the 
musical  programme ;  indeed,  he  brought  with  him 
some  of  his  famous  troubadours.  After  dinner  the 
august  company  disposed  themselves,  some  to  the 
merry  dance,  some  to  the  quiet  tetes-&-t£te,  and  some 
to  cards — then  so  fashionable  and  so  much  beloved 
by  the  King  and  Queen  of  France.  A  very  famous 
pack  was  used,  the  Queens  of  the  suit  being  Isabeau 
for  "  Hearts,"  Marie  for  "  Clubs,"  Agnes  Sorel  for 
"  Diamonds,"  and  Jeanne  d'Arc  for  "  Spades," 
Kinged  respectively  by  Charles  VI.,  Louis  III., 
Charles  VII.,  and  Rene"  ;  and  the  Knaves,  Xain- 
trailles,  La  Hire,  Dunois,  and  Barbazan — a  quaint 
conceit ! 

Upon  the  death  of  Louis  III.,  his  sister,  Queen 
Marie,  came  in  for  a  considerable  fortune — renounced, 
be  it  said,  by  that  most  loving  of  all  brothers,  Rene, 
in  her  behalf.  It  was  said  that  the  new  Duke 
assigned  the  whole  of  his  revenues  from  Anjou  to 
the  use  of  his  sister.  He  settled  certain  estates  upon 
her  which  she  very  quickly  and  cleverly  turned  to 
good  account.  In  person  the  Queen  visited  her  new 
properties,  dressed  plainly  in  black  and  without 
ceremony,  inquired  into  the  condition  of  the  labourers 
and  the  promise  of  the  harvest,  and  then,  calling  to 
her  assistance  the  well-known  financier  of  Bourges, 
Jacques  Cceur,  opened  out  business  relations  with 
England.  The  vineyards  of  Anjou — at  least,  those 
bordering  the  Loire — were  among  the  most  fruitful 
in  France.  These  the  Ministers  of  the  Queen 
exploited,  and  opened  out  a  very  profitable  export 


MARIE  D'ANJOU  213 

trade  from  the  port  of  La  Rochelle.  The  sweet 
white  vinous  brandies  of  Annis  became  established 
favourites  of  English  palates.  Anjou  cheese,  too, 
was  excellent ;  it  still  is  made  from  milk  of  Anjou 
cows  and  goats.  CrSme  de  Blois  was  famous  long 
before  Roquefort,  Cantal,  or  Brie,  came  into  request, 
and  with  fresh  butter  was  exported  largely  to 
Southampton,  much  to  the  profit  of  Queen  Marie's 
exchequer. 

These  homely  touches  introduce  the  student  of 
"  La  Vie  Prive'e  des  Frangais  "  to  a  charming  hobby 
of  the  good  Queen  Marie — her  love  of  animals  and 
birds.  In  the  Comptes  de  Roy  Rene  is  a  letter 
to  the  Agents  of  the  Audit;  it  is  dated  July  16, 
1458,  and  is  as  follows : 

"  By  Command  of  the  Queen. 

"  WELL-BELOVED  AND  RIGHT  TRUSTY, 

"  We  have  noted  that  our  brother  the  King 
of  Sicily  (Rene)  has  in  his  house  at  Rivetes,  of  which 
you,  Guillaume  Bernart,  have  the  superintendence, 
some  cocks  and  hens  of  good  strain,  and  that  they 
are  very  fine,  as  we  have  seen.  If  you  are  well 
disposed,  then,  the  messenger  can  bring  us  a  cock 
and  a  hen,  with  a  broody  hen  and  her  chicks.  You 
will  see  that  they  are  in  good  condition.  Do  not  be 
at  all  fearful  of  displeasing  our  royal  brother,  for  we 
shall  make  him  both  pleased  and  happy. 

"  Dearly  beloved,  may  Our  Lord  protect  you. 
Written  at  our  Castle  of  Chinon,  XVI.  day  of  July, 

1458. 

"  MARIE." 

King  Rene"  had  a  farm  at  Rivetes,  and  from  an 
inventory  dated  November  12,  1458,  we  learn  that 


REN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

he  had — "  69  che's  d'animaille  (heads  of  stock), 
1  jument  (mare),  1  poulain  (colt),  42  che's  de  pour- 
ceaux  (pigs),  and  much  poultry."  Rivetes,  with  its 
forest  of  chestnuts,  was  situated  between  the  rivers 
Loire  and  Anthion,  at  no  great  distance  from  Angers. 
Rene  had  also  wild  beasts  and  birds  —  a  vast 
menagerie  at  Rivetes  and  Recule'e.  His  keeper  of 
lions  and  leopards  in  1476  was  Benoist  Bagonet, 
and  of  his  eagles  and  peacocks,  Vissuel  Gosmes.  He 
had  also  at  Reculee  a  Court  fool,  Triboullet.  They 
were  all  very  pleasant  fellows,  and  helped  to  amuse 
the  King  and  Queen  and  their  guests. 

King  Charles  VII.  died  at  his  favourite  castle  of 
Mehun-sur-Yevre,  July  22,  1461.  He  had  suffered 
for  a  considerable  time  from  an  incurable  ulcer  in  his 
mouth,  which  denied  him  the  pleasure  and  necessity 
of  eating.  In  his  last  illness  Marie  was  at  Chinon  ; 
he  cried  piteously  for  her  to  come  to  him:  "Marie, 
ma  Marie!"  She  hastened  to  Mehun,  and  was  in 
time  to  hold  his  hand  and  moisten  his  heated  brow, 
and  quietly  he  died  in  her  arms — the  arms  of  the 
truest  of  wives  and  noblest  of  queens.  Charles  was 
buried  in  the  royal  vaults  at  St.  Denis,  and 
Louis  XL,  his  son,  reigned  in  his  stead.  Devoted 
to  his  mother,  her  widowhood  was  lightened  by  his 
affectionate  regard.  His  father's  death  made  no 
difference  in  her  royal  state ;  the  King  placed  his 
mother  before  his  wife — Charlotte  of  Savoy. 

Queen  Marie  bore  her  consort  twelve  children  ; 
six  died  in  infancy.  Her  two  sons  were  Louis  and 
Charles ;  her  daughters,  who  survived,  Catherine, 
Jeanne,  Yolande,  and  Madeleine.  She  survived 
Charles  but  two  short  years.  Enguerrand  de 
Monstrelet  speaks  thus  of  her  death,  which  occurred 


MARIE  DnANJOU  215 

near  Poitiers,  November  23,  1463:  "There  passed 
away  from  this  world  Marie  of  Anjou  and  France. 
.  .  .  She  bore  all  through  her  life  the  character  of  a 
good  and  devout  woman,  ever  generous  and  patient." 
Her  death  was  not  unexpected,  for  through  trouble, 
sorrow,  and  fasting,  her  frame  had  become  emaciated 
and  her  pulse  beat  slow ;  she  died  actually  from 
prostration.  Her  end  was  very  peaceful  in  the 
silent  cloisters  of  the  Abbey  of  Chastilliers  in  Poitou. 
She  had  but  just  returned  from  a  pilgrimage  to 
the  Gallician  shrine  of  Santiago  da  Compostella. 
Her  body  was  embalmed  and  translated  in  solemn 
guise  to  St.  Denis,  and  laid  beside  that  of  her 
husband.  Her  devotion  to  him  had  not  ceased  at 
his  death,  for  she  had  endowed  twelve  altars  in  the 
chief  cities  of  France  proper  for  the  offering  of 
Masses  for  the  repose  of  his  soul.  Every  month  she 
made  the  practice  of  visiting  the  royal  tomb  at  St. 
Denis  to  hear  Mass  and  pray  for  him.  At  Bourges, 
of  sad  and  chastened  memory,  the  widowed  Queen 
founded  in  honour  of  her  consort  three  considerable 
benevolent  institutions — a  hospital  for  the  sick  poor, 
a  refuge  for  poor  pilgrims,  and  an  orphanage  for 
illegitimate  children. 

Queen  Marie's  transparent  faithfulness  and  absolute 
unselfishness  is  outlined  in  a  famous  saying  of  hers 
with  respect  to  her  relations  with  King  Charles : 
"  He  is  my  lord  and  master ;  he  has  entire  power 
over  all  my  actions,  and  I  have  none  over  his."  Her 
whole-hearted  devotion  and  her  heroic  courage  have 
raised  Marie  d' Anjou  far  above  the  ordinary  level  of 
her  sex,  and  have  elevated  her  to  the  very  highest 
throne  among  the  Queens  of  France. 


CHAPTER  VII 

GIOVANNA    II.    DA    NAPOLI "  SI    COMME    A    REGINA 

GIOVANNA  !" 

I. 

"  LIKE  Queen  Giovanna  "  was,  alas  !  a  common  saying 
in  the  Two  Sicilies  what  time  Giovanna  II.  was  Queen 
of  Naples.  A  term  of  immeasurable  reprobation,  it 
implied  the  stripping  of  the  woman  of  every  shred  of 
moral  character,  the  baring  of  the  Queen  of  every 
claim  to  honour.  If  Isabeau  of  Bavaria  was  the 
worst  Queen-consort,  then  Giovanna  II.  was  the 
worst  Queen-regnant,  perhaps,  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  Her  story  needs  telling  truthfully  with  care. 

Giovanna  II.,  Queen  of  Naples,  was  the  only  sur- 
viving daughter  of  Charles  III.,  "  Carlo  della 
Pace"  King  of  Naples  and  Count  of  Provence.  Her 
mother  was  Margaret,  daughter  of  her  great-uncle 
Charles,  Duke  of  Durazzo  ;  hence  her  parents  were 
cousins,  and  were  both  in  the  direct  line  of  succession 
from  Charles  I.,  Count  of  Anjou,  the  fourth  son  of 
King  Louis  IX., — St.  Louis  of  France, — who  had 
married  Beatrix,  Countess  of  Provence  in  her  own 
right.  Giovanna  had  seven  brothers  and  sisters,  all 
of  whom  died  in  infancy  except  Ladislaus,  born  in 
1376  ;  she  was  his  senior  by  five  years,  having  first 

seen  the  light  of  day  on  April  27,  1371. 

216 


GIOVANNA   II.  DA    NAPOLI    AS    THE    VIRGIN    MARY 

From  a  Painting  by  Antonio  Solario  ("  Lo'Zingaro  ").     (Circa  1420.) 
National  Museum,  Naples 


face  page  216 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  217 

The  Queen's  father's  predecessor  as  occupant  of 
the  throne  of  Naples  had  been  his  second  cousin, 
Giovanna  I.,  the  eldest  surviving  grandchild  of  King 
Robert,  "  Roberto  il  Buono  e  Saggio"  She  died 
childless  in  1382,  although  twice  married,  first  to 
Andrew,  King  of  Hungary,  and  secondly  to  Lodovico, 
Prince  of  Taranto.  By  her  will  she  purposely  passed 
over  the  Princes  of  the  Durazzo  family,  and  named  as 
her  successor  Louis  II.  d'Anjou,  King  of  Sicily  and 
Jerusalem  and  Count  of  Provence.  The  Queen's 
first  marriage  was  celebrated  September  24,  1333, 
when  she  was  only  seven  years  old,  her  boy-husband 
being  fifteen.  The  Pope  created  Prince  Andrew 
King  of  Naples  six  years  later,  upon  his  succession  to 
the  throne  of  Hungary.  Without  the  slightest  com- 
punction, Charles,  son  of  Lodovico,  Count  of  Gravina, 
seized  his  cousin's  empty  throne,  and  maintained  him- 
self thereupon  for  five  years,  his  little  daughter  Gio- 
vanna being  just  ten  years  of  age.  The  death  of 
Queen  Giovanna  I.  was  due  to  the  instigation  of 
Charles.  He  entered  Naples  at  the  head  of  a  strong 
force  of  cavalry,  seized  the  palace,  and  took  the 
Queen  prisoner.  She  was  conducted  to  the  Castle  of 
Muro,  overlooking  the  road  from  Naples  to  Melfi, 
and  there,  with  her  lover,  Otto  of  Brunswick,  suffo- 
cated under  a  feather  bed  by  two  Hungarian  soldiers. 
This  outrage  was  committed  in  revenge  for  the  death 
of  King  Andrew,  which  was  ordered  by  Giovanna  I., 
his  consort. 

Charles  III.,  King  of  Naples,  died  in  1386,  leaving 
to  his  son  Ladislaus  the  royal  succession,  with  his 
widow,  Queen  Margaret,  as  Regent.  They  with  the 
Princess  Giovanna,  sixteen  years  of  age,  were  fugitives 
from  castle  to  castle,  pursued  by  the  troops  of  Louis 


218     RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

d'Anjou.  Nevertheless,  Margaret  was  an  astute 
mother,  for  when  Ladislaus  was  eighteen  years  old 
she  espoused  him  to  Constance,  daughter  of  the  Count 
of  Clermont  in  Sicily,  a  very  wealthy  heiress.  What 
matrimonial  projects  were  hatched  or  addled  on  behalf 
of  Princess  Giovanna  during  her  father's  lifetime  we 
know  not,  but  almost  the  first  matter  taken  in  hand 
by  King  Ladislaus  was  an  advantageous  marriage  for 
his  sister.  This  was  a  very  complicated  business. 
First  of  all,  neither  he  nor  she  cared  very  much  for 
matrimony ;  he  was  a  libertine,  and  she  shared  his 
freedom  and  his  depravity.  Next,  each  suitor  for  the 
hand  of  Giovanna  retired  disgusted  by  the  loose 
morals  of  the  Neapolitan  Court  and  by  the  avarice  of 
the  King  and  his  sister.  However,  at  length  a  match 
was  arranged  between  the  Princess  and  Prince 
William,  son  of  Leopold  III.,  Duke  of  Austria.  The 
actual  nuptials,  however,  were  postponed  for  one 
reason  or  another  until  1403,  when  Giovanna  had 
reached  the  considerable  age  of  thirty- two.  The 
princely  couple  went  off  to  Austria,  where  they 
remained  more  or  less  unhappy  until  1406,  when  the 
Prince  died  suddenly  and  suspiciously,  many  said  by 
the  hand  or  direction  of  his  ill-conditioned  wife. 

The  widow  returned  at  once  to  Naples  to  fill  the 
place  of  honour  vacated  by  her  brother's  wife,  his 
second  consort,  Maria  di  Lusignan.  Queen  Constance 
he  had  divorced  in  1391,  and  married  the  daughter 
of  the  King  of  Cyprus  the  same  year.  The  ostensible 
reason  for  rejecting  Constance  was  the  failure  of  her 
father  to  pay  her  dowry.  She  was  a  lovely  girl  and 
virtuous, — a  rare  quality  at  that  time, — and  became 
the  idol  of  the  Court.  Queen  Maria  had  scarcely 
been  seated  on  the  throne,  when  she  also  fell  from  her 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  219 

high  station.  Ladislaus  said  she  was  delicate  and  in 
consumption,  and  no  wife  for  him.  One  day,  when 
she  and  the  King  were  assisting  at  Mass  in  the 
cathedral,  she  heard  with  the  utmost  astonishment 
and  dismay  the  Archbishop  read  a  Bull  of  Pope 
Boniface  IX.  annulling  her  marriage  with  Ladislaus. 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  citation  the  prelate  advanced 
to  the  Queen's  throne  and  demanded  her  wedding- 
ring.  Too  stupefied  to  resist,  the  pledge  of  her 
married  state  was  torn  from  her  finger,  and  she  was 
carried  away  to  a  remote  convent  under  the  care  of 
two  aged  nuns.  Three  years  after  this  outrage  the 
King  relented  of  his  cruelty,  and  married  her  to  one 
Andrea  di  Capua,  one  of  his  favourites.  He  took  a 
third  wife  in  1406,  Marie  d'Enghien,  the  widow  of 
Raimondo  d'Orsini,  some  six  months  after  the  return 
of  his  sister  from  Austria.  She  is  said  to  have  sur- 
vived Ladislaus.  Some  letters  of  hers  are  preserved 
at  Conversano,  near  Bari,  in  the  Benedictine  convent. 

The  advance  of  Louis  d'Anjou  upon  the  capital 
roused  Ladislaus  to  action,  and  he  hastily  gathered 
together  an  undisciplined  army,  and  set  forth  to 
withstand  his  rival  to  the  throne.  A  decisive  battle 
was  fought  at  Rocca  Secca,  May  19,  1411,  wherein 
Ladislaus's  troops  were  routed,  but  Louis  failed  to 
follow  up  his  advantage,  and  Ladislaus  retained  his 
throne  and  continued  his  debauches. 

Early  in  1412  Queen  Margaret,  mother  of  the 
King  and  of  Giovanna,  died  somewhat  suddenly. 
She  and  her  entourage  had  taken  refuge  from  a 
visitation  of  plague,  which  spared  neither  prince  nor 
peasant,  at  her  villa  at  Acquamela,  six  miles  from 
Salerno.  She  was  buried  privately  in  the  Cathedral 
of  Salerno,  in  the  crypt  over  against  the  marble 


220    REN:6  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

sarcophagus  which  contained  the  ashes  of  St. 
Matthew.  Whatever  influence  she  may  have  exerted 
during  the  youth  of  her  son  and  daughter  for  their 
good  was  speedily  dissipated,  and  as  soon  as  Ladislaus 
had  obtained  the  crown  he  took  steps  to  circum- 
scribe the  liberty  of  his  mother.  She  appealed  to 
her  daughter  Giovanna  for  sympathy,  but  found 
none,  and  the  poor  old  Queen,  who  had  survived  her 
consort,  Charles,  for  six -and -twenty  years,  was 
consigned  to  the  Convent  of  the  Annunciation,  "  so 
as  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  mischief,"  as  her  daughter 
phrased  it.  The  natural  role  of  mother  was  entirely 
out  of  place  in  a  palace  or  at  a  Court  ruled  by  a 
libertine  and  a  prostitute. 

Ladislaus  died  sadly  and  alone.  His  unnatural 
sister  refused  to  be  with  him,  and  all  his  butterfly 
courtesans  gave  to  themselves  wing  when  sickness 
and  death  entered  the  royal  palace.  He  died 
August  6,  1414,  leaving  no  lawful  offspring  by  his 
three  wives,  but  a  numerous  family  of  natural  children. 
No  Salic  Law  governed  the  succession  to  the  throne 
in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  consequently  Giovanna 
became  Queen. 

The  widowed  Queen  Giovanna  had  not  married 
again,  although  she  counted  lovers  by  the  score  ; 
but  within  a  few  months  of  her  accession  she  took 
steps  to  ally  herself  with  a  Prince  who  should  be 
the  handsomest  and  wittiest  of  the  time.  This 
determination  of  Giovanna  was  noised  abroad  all  over 
the  capitals  and  Courts  of  Europe,  and  forthwith  a 
troop  of  eligible  suitors  passed  through  the  ports 
of  Marseilles  and  Genoa,  each  bent  on  taking  the 
ribald  Queen  at  her  word.  The  romance  reads  like 
a  fairy  tale,  for  each  princeling  and  prince  was  put 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI 

through  his  paces  to  show  his  qualifications  in  person 
and  in  purse  ;  for,  desperately  wicked  as  she  was,  the 
Queen  had  a  commercial  sense,  and  her  exchequer 
stood  sorely  in  need  of  replenishment.  Taken  for  all 
in  all,  Juan  d'Arragona,  son  of  King  Ferdinand,  was 
the  champion  of  physical  beauty,  knightly  courtesy, 
and  financial  competence  ;  but  he  was  no  more  than 
a  precocious  lad  of  seventeen,  whilst  the  Queen  was 
forty-five.  A  matrimonial  union  was  ruled  to  be 
impossible,  and  the  pride  of  Aragon  would  not  suffer 
a  scion  of  her  royal  house  to  become  the  plaything 
of  a  lewd  Queen. 

Giovanna  very  unwillingly  transferred  her  affec- 
tions to  an  older  suitor, — the  champion,  if  we  may 
so  write,  of  the  heavy  weights, — Jacques  de  Bourbon, 
Comte  de  la  Marche,  of  the  Royal  House  of  France, 
and  their  nuptials  were  celebrated  in  the  Cathedral 
of  Naples  on  August  10,  1415.  He  very  soon 
discovered  that,  strong  man  as  he  was,  he  had  a 
wily  woman  to  contend  with.  He  began  to  assert 
his  marital  rights,  and  required  Giovanna  to  accord 
him  equal  honours  with  herself;  at  the  same  time  he 
utterly  failed  in  the  reformation  of  the  conduct  of 
his  wife.  She  served  herself  upon  him  as  she  willed, 
but  she  mostly  willed  to  serve  him  not  at  all,  and 
to  transfer  her  favours,  as  before  their  marriage, 
indiscriminately  to  whilom  paramours.  Like  a  lion 
wounded  in  his  den,  Roy  Jacques, — for  so  he  called 
himself, — struck  out  at  his  supplanters,  and,  with  his 
past-master  knowledge  of  the  rapier  and  its  uses,  he 
pricked  to  death  not  one  but  many  lovers  of  the 
Queen.  The  Neapolitans  were  man  for  man  with 
Giovanna,  and  indignant  with  her  consort.  Strange 
to  say,  perhaps,  for  us  who  read  the  story  of  the 


222    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

time,  evil  royal  communications  had  wholly  corrupted 
the  morals  and  the  manners  of  all  classes  in  the 
realm. 

Incited  by  toadies  and  sycophants,  G-iovanna  at 
last  took  the  upper  hand  against  her  spouse,  and  on 
September  13,  1416, — little  more  than  a  year  after 
their  marriage, — she  ordered  his  imprisonment  in 
the  Castella  dell'  Ovo,  a  fortress  of  such  strength  that 
Froissart  said  :  "  None  but  the  devil  can  take  it  !" 
Thence,  however,  he  escaped,  but  with  a  price  upon 
his  head, — fixed  by  his  inconstant  mistress, — and 
took  up  his  residence  at  Besanqon,  with  the  white 
cord  of  St.  Francis  d'Assisi  round  his  loins.  There 
he  died,  having  renounced  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil,  a  wiser  and  a  disillusioned  man,  in  1  436. 

Giovanna,  released  from  the  bonds  of  matrimony, 
greatly  to  her  relief,  gave  herself  unreservedly  into 
the  arms  of  every  man  dare-devil  enough  to  risk  the 
consequences.  Of  these,  perhaps  the  first  whose 
name  and  maldoings  chroniclers  have  preserved  was 
Pandolfo  Alopo,  a  base-born  athlete,  a  very  hand- 
some follow,  and  a  seductive  guitarist  to  boot.  He 
responded  to  his  royal  mistress's  amours,  and  she 
appointed  him  Seneschal  of  the  kingdom,  with 
authority  to  use  her  signet-ring.  Very  soon,  mentally 
and  morally  undisciplined  as  he  was,  he  exceeded  the 
length  of  Giovanna's  tether,  by  exciting  her  jealousy 
with  respect  to  her  Maids  of  Honour.  Short  was  his 
shrift.  Seized,  bound,  and  tortured  with  nameless 
indignity  and  cruelty,  his  mutilated  body  was  cast 
into  the  sea  off  the  fair  island  of  Nisida,  where  the 
vicious  vixen  held  orgies  equal  in  atrocity  and 
bestiality  to  those  of  Tiberius  in  Capri. 

Sforza  da  Colignola  stepped  gaily  in  the  bloody 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI 

footmarks  of  Alopo.  He  was  the  chief  of  the 
Queen's  pages,  and  had  been  reared  under  her  eye 
and  at  her  will  ;  he  had,  moreover,  a  fell  influence 
over  his  mistress,  as  witness  time  out  of  mind,  ever 
since  his  teens,  of  her  enormities.  He,  indeed, 
gained  the  upper  hand  of  Giovanna,  and,  being  an 
adept  in  martial  exercises,  held  his  own  against  all 
comers.  For  a  time  he  left  the  intimate  service  of 
the  Queen,  and  became  a  soldier  of  fortune,  winning 
laurels  and  prizes  all  along  his  way.  Secretly  he 
sympathized  with  the  claims  of  the  House  of  Anjou, 
judging  shrewdly  enough  that  under  the  white  lilies 
of  Louis  he  would  have  a  better  hold  upon  his 
position  at  the  Court  of  Naples  than  he  would  under 
the  red  bars  of  Alfonso  of  Aragon. 

Giovanna  felt  the  thraldom  of  Sforza's  strength  of 
character  and  his  knowledge  of  her  past,  and  because 
no  one  seemed  willing  to  take  her  at  her  word,  and 
rid  her  of  his  presence,  she  turned  herself  about  and 
fixed  her  confidence  on  Sergianni  Caracciolo.  Upon 
him  she  showered  riches  and  honours,  but  in  return 
he  made  himself  her  master. 

The  Queen's  choice  of  favourites  was  not,  however, 
confined  to  men  of  merit  or  of  high  degree.  Every 
good-looking  youth  or  well-favoured  man  upon  whom 
her  eyes  chanced  to  rest  was  enrolled  in  her  house- 
hold. She  frequented  athletic  meetings  incognita  to 
view  the  personal  qualifications  of  vigorous  youths, 
and  spent  her  evenings  in  surreptitious  visits  to  her 
stables  and  her  kennels.  The  men  of  her  choice 
were  offered  no  alternative,  but  when  the  guilty 
intercourse  was  consummated  the  lucky-luckless 
companion  of  her  couch  was  expected  to  commit 

suicide     or    for    ever    leave    his    home    on    pain    of 

15 


RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

imprisonment    and  torture    if  he    tarried    four-and- 
twenty  hours. 

Perhaps  no  figure  of  a  man  fascinated  Queen 
Giovanna  more  completely  than  did  the  handsome 
person  of  Bartolommeo  Collcone  of  Bergamo.  His 
family  had  become  impoverished  by  the  bitter  feuds  of 
the  Guelphs  and  Ghibellines,  so  at  eighteen  the  young 
lad  bid  his  parents  farewell  and  started  off  to  win  his 
way  in  military  adventures.  He  travelled  south  to 
Naples,  and  at  twenty  was  as  lusty  and  as  strong 
as  any  man  he  met.  Of  a  strict  habit  of  body,  he 
performed  feats  none  others  dared.  Giovanna  sent 
for  the  good-looking  stranger,  and  pittied  him  against 
the  ablest  youths  of  Naples.  In  leaping,  running, 
and  casting  of  heavy  weights,  no  one  could  snrpass 
him.  Instantly  the  Queen  fell  in  love  with  him,  and 
appointed  him  her  esquire,  with  ready  access  to  her 
boudoir,  where  she  denied  him  nothing.  His  final 
reward  was  the  cloister  of  St.  Francis  d'Assisi, 
which  became  his  prison,  and  his  mouth  was  sealed. 
How  he  escaped  torture  no  one  has  recorded. 

It  would  be  long,  and  certainly  distasteful,  to  give 
a  full  list  of  all  those  who  shared  the  vampire  caresses 
of  the  peccant  Queen  ;  but  brief  is  her  story  of  how 
Giovanna  destroyed  the  fair  fame  of  her  house  and 
the  honour  of  her  country.  Of  her  it  was  written  : 
"  Ultima  Durazzajiet  destructio  regnum  "  ("  The  last 
Durazzo  shall  destroy  the  kingdom  "). 


II. 

Whilst  Giovanna  was  thus  prostituting  herself  and 
her  kingdom,  and  Alfonso  of  Aragon  was  biding  his 
time,  a  movement  was  on  foot  in  Anjou  and  Provence, 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  225 

under  the  strong  hand  of  Queen  Yolande,  to  win  back 
the  rights  her  husband  had  abandoned  to  the  succes- 
sion of  the  Neapolitan  crown.  Her  eldest  son, — a 
boy  not  yet  out  of  school, — should  place  that  crown 
once  more  upon  the  head  of  an  Angevine  Sovereign 
or  perish  in  the  attempt.  Men  and  arms  and  allies 
were  all  requisitioned,  and  elaborate  preparations  were 
made  at  Marseilles  and  Genoa  for  the  embarkation  of 
the  "  army  of  Naples." 

The  expedition  of  Louis  III.  to  Naples  was  hurried 
forward  in  consequence  of  the  breach  between  Queen 
Giovanna  and  the  nobles  of  Naples.  Her  disregard 
of  their  allegiance,  and  her  appointment  to  all  the 
more  important  posts  under  the  Crown  of  men  of 
obscure  origin  who  had  commended  themselves  to  her 
by  their  physical  charms  and  coarse  obscenities,  caused 
a  disruption  in  the  political  economy  of  the  kingdom. 
The  Queen  was  deaf  to  the  expostulations  of  her 
Barons,  and  ordered  them  severally  to  their  estates, 
where,  fuming  with  indignation,  they  armed  their 
retainers  and  stood  ready  for  any  emergency.  The 
arrogance  of  King  Alfonso  drove  many  would-be 
adherents  into  the  camp  of  his  Angevine  rival,  and 
an  influential  deputation  of  aggrieved  dignitaries  made 
its  way  to  Marseilles  to  tender  to  Yolande,  the  Queen 
of  Sicily  and  the  mother  of  Anjou,  their  homage,  and 
to  assure  her  of  their  cordial  support  for  the  youthful 
King  if  only  she  would  permit  him  to  show  himself  at 
the  head  of  an  overawing  force  before  the  capital. 

There  is  a  romantic  story  concerning  King  Louis's 
journey  to  Naples  told  by  Jehan  Charantais,  esquire 
to  the  King,  in  a  letter  to  Queen  Yolande.  The 
fleet  of  Genoese  and  Proven9al  galleons  was  driven  by 
adverse  winds,  it  is  related,  and  sought  refuge  under 


RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

the  high  cliffs  of  Sicily.  Whilst  weather-bound,  the 
young  Prince  landed  with  a  company  of  knights  in 
search  of  adventures.  As  they  came  ashore  a  number 
of  girls  greeted  them  with  showers  of  roses,  and  tossed 
them  handfuls  of  kisses.  One,  more  daring  than  the 
rest,  ran  up  to  the  youthful  Sovereign,  wholly  ignorant 
of  his  identity,  and  gave  him  a  nosegay  of  crimson 
blooms  tied  with  a  lovers'  knot  of  blue  ribbon. 
Accepting  the  good-omened  offering,  Louis  loosened 
his  surcoat  to  insert  the  fragrant  spray,  when  his 
kingly  medallion  fell  out  at  the  foot  of  the  damsel. 
She  at  once  picked  it  up  and  ran  away,  laughing 
provokingly.  The  Prince  followed  her,  caught  her, 
recovered  his  badge  of  sovereignty,  and  gave  his 
captive  in  exchange  a  sounding  kiss.  But  Leonora, — 
such  was  her  name, — had  discovered  who  he  was. 

That  same  day  a  missive  was  brought  aboard  the 
flagship  by  a  Sicilian  fisherman.  It  was  in  Leonora's 
handwriting,  and  bore  her  signature.  She  told  him 
she  was  about  to  be  sent  to  Naples  by  her  parents  as 
a  Maid  of  Honour  to  the  Queen.  She  had  very 
much  disliked  the  idea,  and  had  refused  to  go,  because 
Giovanna  was  the  daughter  of  a  usurper,  as  was 
reported,  and  because  she  bore  so  evil  a  character. 
"  Now,"  she  added,  "  that  I  have  seen  and  spoken  to 
my  King,  and  have  received  his  embraces,  I  am  ready 
to  go  at  all  hazards  and  do  my  utmost  in  his  cause." 

Louis  dillydallied  with  his  Sicilian  mermaid,  and 
their  loves  continued  for  wellnigh  a  fortnight  before 
his  fleet  was  ready  to  put  to  sea  again.  Fair  Leonora, 
too,  took  her  departure,  saying,  as  she  bid  adieu  to 
her  lover  :  "  We  shall  meet,  dear  Prince,  again  in  the 
Queen's  boudoir." 

Louis  III.,  a  well-grown  lad  of  seventeen,  and  as 


KING   RENE   RECEIVING   THE    HOMAGE    OF   A   VASSAL,    1469 
From  a  Miniature,  MS.  Fifteenth  Century.    National  Library,  Paris 


To  face  page  226 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  227 

manly  as  he  was  fit  mentally,  arrived  off  the  city  of 
Naples  on  August  15,  1420,  to  maintain  his  right  to 
the  throne  more  bravely  and  more  successfully  than 
either  his  father  or  his  grandfather  had  done.  He 
had  just  fallen  in  with  the  fleet  of  the  King  of 
Aragon,  but  in  defeating  his  hereditary  enemy  his 
own  flotilla  was  so  greatly  worsted  that  he  was  unable 
to  take  the  city  by  storm.  He  landed,  however,  and 
betook  himself  to  Aversa  to  present  his  homage  to 
Queen  Giovanna.  Shocked  by  her  lustful  overtures, 
he  departed  precipitately  to  Rome,  and  there  bided 
his  time.  The  Queen's  failure  to  seduce  the  young 
Sovereign  threw  her  once  more  into  the  arms  of 
King  Alfonso,  whom  she  formally  proclaimed  her  heir 
on  September  24  the  same  year.  Three  years 
passed  whilst  the  adherents  of  the  House  of  Anjou 
suffered  forfeiture  of  goods,  liberty  of  person,  and 
many  cruel  punishments  and  tortures. 

Alfonso,  a  natural  son  of  King  Ferdinand  the  Just, 
King  of  Aragon  and  Sicily,  was  forty  years  of  age, 
remarkably  handsome,  talented  and  capable,  ambitious, 
but  generous  and  devoted  to  the  fair  sex.  He  was, 
however,  entirely  unresponsive  to  the  amorous  ap- 
proaches of  the  Queen.  His  rejection,  his  scorn,  and 
his  independence  of  action,  roused  in  Giovanna  keen 
feelings  of  resentment.  She  had  named  him  heir  to 
Naples  ;  she  could  just  as  easily  disinherit  and  discard 
him.  On  June  24,  1423,  —  good  St.  John  the 
Baptist's  Day,  a  festival  of  major  obligation  in  the 
Church, — the  Queen  caused  proclamation  to  be  made 
at  Mass  and  in  the  markets  that,  "  owing  to  the 
incompetence  and  pretensions  of  the  King  of  Aragon, 
he  is  thereby  disinherited,  and  is  no  longer  to  be 
recognized  as  successor  to  the  throne  of  Naples."  A 


228    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

plot,  indeed,  or  more  correctly  plots,  were  revealed 
to  Giovanna  whereby  Alfonso  was  implicated  in  a 
conspiracy  to  seize  the  Queen's  person,  imprison  her, 
and  ultimately  to  poison  her.  On  May  22  of  the 
same  year  he  had  taken  the  bold  step  of  arresting 
Gianni  Caracciolo,  the  Queen's  chief  favourite.  This 
roused  Giovanna  to  action.  She  ordered  Caracciolo's 
immediate  release,  and  bade  Alfonso  quit  Naples  at 
once,  or  remain  at  his  peril.  Greatly  to  her  surprise 
and  relief,  he  took  his  departure,  and  left  the  field 
open  to  his  youthful  rival. 

The  Queen's  next  step  was  to  send  to  Rome,  and 
invite  her  "  beloved  cousin,"  as  she  called  Louis,  to 
return  to  her  assistance  in  driving  the  Aragonese  out 
of  Naples,  and  to  accept  the  succession  to  her  throne. 
She  bade  him  to  have  no  fear  of  misunderstandings 
of  the  past,  but  to  regard  herself  as  nothing  more 
than  a  well-intentioned  relative. 

Louis,  now  grown  to  manhood,  with  ripened 
experience  of  warlike  tactics  and  political  strife,  and, 
be  it  said,  of  women  and  their  ways,  entered  Naples 
in  state  on  April  10,  1424.  His  arrival  in  Southern 
Italy  cheered  the  desponding  spirits  of  the  Angevine 
party  and  roused  their  zeal.  Adherents  flocked  to 
the  banner  he  set  up,  and  men  and  arms  were  ready 
at  his  beck  and  call.  A  very  important  personage 
allied  himself  with  the  young  King  -  adventurer — 
none  other  than  Sforza,  the  famous  condottiere. 
He  gathered  around  him  a  considerable  number  of 
distinguished  malcontents  and  disappointed  favourites 
of  the  Queen,  who  in  no  way  concealed  their  inten- 
tion of  revenging  the  insults  she  had  heaped  upon 
them,  as  soon  as  they  gained  a  promising  opportunity. 
News  of  this  determination  very  soon  reached 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  229 

Giovanna's  ears,  and  she  shut  herself  up  in  her 
palace  with  her  maidens  and  her  toadies,  and  declined 
to  receive  King  Louis  or  his  envoys.  At  the  same 
time  she  summoned  to  her  presence  Braccio  Forte- 
braccio  di  Mantova,  another  'of  her  renowned  con- 
dottieri,  and  Constable  of  Sicily,  the  avowed  rival  and 
enemy  of  Sforza,  and  suffering  under  a  decree  of 
excommunication  of  Pope  Martin  V. 

Leonora,  immediately  in  attendance  on  the  Queen, 
managed  very  skilfully  to  convey  intelligence  of  all 
that  passed  in  Giovanna's  secret  councils  to  her  royal 
lover.  She  told  him  that,  in  spite  of  her  recent 
proclamation,  the  Queen  had  sent  her  favourite 
Court  Seneschal,  Gianni  Caracciolo,  to  the  King  of 
Aragon  to  implore  him  to  come  and  rescue  her,  and 
put  the  coalition  to  flight.  She  asked  Alfonso  to 
accept  the  title  and  estates  of  Duke  of  Calabria,  as 
appertaining  to  the  heir-presumptive  to  the  Neapolitan 
throne.  This  daring  courtier  pressed  his  attentions 
upon  the  Queen,  demanding  not  only  a  share  of  her 
bed,  but  a  share  of  her  throne.  Leonora  told  Louis 
all  the  ins  and  outs  of  this  intrigue,  and  warned  him 
to  be  on  the  alert ;  for  should  Caracciolo's  presump- 
tion become  known  in  Naples,  there  would  be  a 
general  revolution.  Sforza,  on  his  side,  was  not 
prepared  to  allow  his  rival  Hercules  an  unquestioned 
victory  at  Court.  He  demanded  admission  to  the 
palace,  and  an  interview  with  the  Queen,  before 
whom  he  challenged  Caracciolo  to  mortal  combat. 

Giovanna  was  delighted  that  such  redoubtable 
champions  should  worst  each  other  on  her  account. 
Her  vanity  was  flattered — and  that  is  a  happy  condi- 
tion for  a  scheming  woman.  Undoubtedly  she  most 
favoured  Caracciolo,  but  Sforza's  fine  physique 


280    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

appealed  to  her  irresistibly,  and  she  fanned  his 
passion.  If  Caracciolo  was  for  the  moment  master 
of  her  heart,  Sforza  was  master  of  her  future,  and 
she  was  happy.  One  day  she  invited  the  rivals  to 
join  her  in  the  chase,  and  she  rode  between  them. 
She  cared  little  for  hunting  save  as  an  incentive  to 
amorous  relations.  Tiring  soon  of  the  exercise, 
she  expressed  a  wish  to  dismount  and  saunter  in 
the  forest  glades,  but  her  mood  lead  to  an  extra- 
ordinary contest.  Caracciolo  threw  himself  at  once 
off  his  mount,  and  gave  the  Queen  his  hand  to  rid 
her  of  her  pommel.  Sforza,  seeing  his  advantage, 
pressed  his  horse  against  the  Queen's  and  seized  her 
other  hand.  Each  hero  pulled  his  hardest,  until 
Giovanna  was  compelled  to  cry  aloud  for  pain ! 
Then,  slipping  quietly  down,  she  ordered  Sforza  to 
release  her.  This  token  of  non-preference  excited  the 
condottieres  passion.  "If  Caracciolo,"  he  hissed 
out,  "  had  not  been  so  clumsy,  your  Majesty  would 
not  have  been  so  greatly  disarranged !" 

"  It  is  not  you,"  replied  the  Queen,  "  that  should 
dare  to  regulate  my  conduct,  or,  for  the  matter  of 
that,  your  rival's.  Hold  your  tongue  and  leave  me  ; 
your  presence  is  not  grateful  just  now  !" 

"  As  you  will,  madam,"  said  Sforza  fiercely. 
"  Yes,  I  will  leave  you  with  the  favourite  of  your 
heart,  but  you  ought  to  know  that  you  cannot  treat 
thus  a  man  like  me  !"  Then  he  turned  to  Caracciolo, 
and  exclaimed  in  a  tone  of  scornful  disdain :  "  As 
for  you,  I  advise  you  to  use  all  your  wits  and  all 
your  resources,  for  you  will  stand  in  need  of  them  !" 

Giovanna  was  on  that  day  absolutely  overcome 
by  her  physical  passions.  She  cared  for  nothing, 
and  the  last  sight  the  enraged  Sforza  had  of  her  was 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  S31 

locked  in  her  lover's  arms  and  reclining  on  a  mossy 
bed,  lost  to  the  world  around.  The  erring  Queen 
speedily  came  to  her  senses  with  respect  to  the  posi- 
tion Sfoza  had  taken  up  ;  and  when  she  learnt  that 
he  had  thrown  in  his  lot  for  better  or  for  worse  with 
Louis  III.,  under  a  pretext,  she  despatched  Caracciolo 
to  Rome  to  claim  the  Papal  reversal  of  his  excom- 
munication, and  to  assure  the  Pope  of  her  filial 
devotion  to  the  Holy  See.  Before  he  departed, 
Giovanna  required  him  to  deliver  up  his  sword  as 
Seneschal  of  the  kingdom,  which  she  promptly  offered 
as  a  bribe  to  Sforza. 

Meanwhile  Leonora  had  not  been  idle.  She  had 
spoken  to  the  Queen  often  and  passionately  about 
the  comeliness  and  the  gallantry  of  her  hero,  con- 
trasting his  buoyant  physical  excellences  with  the 
blaze  proportions  of  Alfonso, — not  knowing  that  he 
had  rejected  Giovanna's  lustful  overtures,  —  until 
she  expressed  herself  desirous  of  confirming  his 
appointment  as  her  heir.  Leonora  wrote  thus  to 
King  Louis :  "  Come  not  yet  to  the  palace ;  but 
arm  your  fleet,  and  recruit  what  troops  you  can. 
Sforza  is  loyal,  but  Caracciolo  is  your  enemy,  and  he 
is  powerful.  Besides  him  you  have  to  reckon  with 
Braccio  and  with  King  Alfonso.  You  have  need 
of  prudence  and  daring." 

The  position  of  affairs,  so  far  as  the  Queen  was 
personally  concerned,  was  perilous  in  the  extreme. 
On  one  hand,  the  King  of  Aragon  did  not  hide  his 
intention  of  capturing  her,  and  consigning  her  and 
her  maidens  and  men  to  a  castle  in  Catalonia,  and 
then  he  would  be  absolute  master  of  the  kingdom  of 
Naples.  On  the  other  hand,  Louis,  aided  by  Sforza, 
whom  she  had  so  grievously  outraged,  was  determined 


232    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

to  win  back  his  ancestral  inheritance,  Queen  or  no 
Queen,  but  he  in  no  way  threatened  her  life  or 
liberty.  The  Queen  fled  with  her  Court  to  the 
Castle  of  Capua,  and  there  established  herself.  Sforza 
followed  her,  and,  whilst  avowedly  protecting  his 
Queen,  made  her  his  prisoner,  and  then,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  fleet  of  King  Louis,  caused  Alfonso, 
who  with  Braccio  was  investing  the  city  of  Naples, 
to  seek  refuge  in  Castel  Nuovo,  whence  he  set  sail  to 
Aragon  for  reinforcements  and  supplies. 

Leonora, — still  with  the  Queen  and  still  devoted 
to  the  cause  of  King  Louis, — wrote  to  him  again, 
bidding  him  adventure  himself  to  Aversa,  whither 
Giovanna  retired  after  the  departure  of  King  Alfonso. 
There  Louis  found  her,  and,  in  spite  of  advancing 
years  and  the  disordered  life  she  had  led,  noted  her 
good  looks,  her  grace  of  manner  and  of  speech,  and  her 
general  attractiveness.  "  Her  eyes,"  wrote  Leonora, 
"  flashed  wonderfully,  and  her  cheeks  reddened  pas- 
sionately directly  she  beheld  again  her  good-looking 
young  cousin."  Giovanna  greeted  him  at  the  top  of 
the  grand  staircase  of  the  palace,  and  addressed  him 
in  gushing  terms :  "  The  brave  deeds  you  have 
accomplished,  gallant  Prince,"  she  said,  "  have  added 
greatly  to  your  renown.  Enter,  victorious  King,  my 
peaceful  abode,  take  a  well-merited  repose,  and  receive 
from  me,  your  devoted  admirer,  the  homage  of  a 
thankful  Princess,  who  is  greatly  charmed  at  behold- 
ing you  in  full  possession  of  your  lawful  estate." 
Extending  her  hand,  she  led  the  young  King  to  the 
apartments  which  had  been  prepared  for  him. 

Louis,  bowing  profoundly,  deprecated  the  services 
which  had  gained  such  honours  as  the  Queen  had 
bestowed  upon  him.  "  I  have  achieved  success  in 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI 

your  name,  Madam,  and  for  your  pleasure,"  he  replied. 
They  supped  together,  and  then,  bidding  all  the 
company  and  the  servants  to  withdraw,  she  conversed 
with  her  visitor  upon  every  subject  that  came  upper- 
most in  her  mind,  but  eventually  laid  herself  open 
to  receive  the  supreme  pleasure  she  had  in  contem- 
plation. Louis  was  inflexible,  and  all  her  tenderness 
and  affection  found  no  response.  At  last  she  said  : 
"  I  do  not  know  what  more  I  can  do.  You,  Sire, 
accept  gladly  the  rights  your  arms  have  won,  but 
what  is  more  precious  still  you  refuse — these  arms 
of  mine  which  are  ready  to  do  your  will  and 
pleasure." 

Giovanna  then  lowered  her  gaze  and  sat  mute, 
awaiting  Louis's  reply  with  palpitating  breast.  She 
might  very  well  have  hummed  the  kissing  song  of 
Ronsard  : 

"  On  soil  d'un  baiser  sec,  ou  d'un  baiser  humide, 
D'un  baiser  court,  ou  d'un  baiser  qui  guide 
Jjdme  dessuz  la  bouche,  et  laisse  trespasser 
Le  baiseur."  * 

"  No,  madam,"  at  last  spoke  the  young  Prince, 
greatly  embarrassed  by  the  Queen's  words  and 
looks,  "  it  shall  never  be  said  that  I  seek  the  means 
for  impairing  your  royal  prerogative  ;  you  shall  retain 
that,  I  pray,  in  its  entirety  so  long  as  Providence 
sees  good  to  preserve  you  to  your  people."  Then  he 
politely  withdrew  from  the  chamber  and  sought  his 
own  lodging.  Again  on  the  morrow  the  King  and 
Queen  dined  together  privately.  Giovanna  was 
dressed  superbly  in  royal  robes  and  wore  priceless 

*  "  Maybe  the  kiss  is  cold,  maybe  it's  warm ; 
A  kiss  and  off,  or  a  kiss  that  clings, 
And  guides  the  ardent  lover  'neath  the  lips 
Till  he  finds  no  way  to  escape." 


234    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

jewels,  but  her  manner  was  strangely  marked  by 
languor  and  vexation.  Their  conversation  was  forced 
and  restrained  in  turn.  After  the  repast  they 
adjourned  together  to  the  lovely  gardens  of  the 
palace,  which  were  brilliantly  illuminated  and  filled 
with  a  numerous  and  festive  company.  The  best 
musicians  of  the  capital  and  the  most  excellent 
jongleurs  of  foreign  and  native  fame  forgathered 
to  do  honour  to  the  royal  guest.  Dances  and  flirta- 
tions were  the  order  of  the  evening,  and  among  the 
Queen's  maidens  was  the  lovely  girl  from  Sicily, 
Leonora.  Louis  saw  her  immediately,  and  it  was 
not  very  long  before  they  were  tete-a-tete  in  a  grotto 
hidden  from  public  gaze. 

The  royal  romance  reached  a  climax  when  Louis 
avowed  himself  the  devoted  admirer  and  lover  of  the 
girl.  He  even  proposed  a  clandestine  marriage,  but 
Leonora  begged  him  with  tears  not  to  press  his  suit. 
She  revealed  to  him  the  real  character  of  her  mistress, 
and  warned  him  that  if  Giovanna  became  conversant 
with  the  liaison,  then  she  herself  would  be  done 
to  death,  and  he,  Louis,  would  probably  be  assas- 
sinated. "  You  may,"  she  said,  "  refuse  to  marry 
the  Queen,  but  she  will  never  pardon  you  if  you 
marry  anybody  else." 

Again,  the  third  day  of  Louis's  visit  to  Aversa, 
the  Queen  arranged  meals  and  meetings  alone  with 
the  Prince,  whose  morals  and  whose  manhood  she 
was  striving  so  consumedly  to  seduce.  The  Queen's 
eyes  had  in  them  not  alone  the  lure  of  lust,  but  the 
flash  of  passion  and  the  flame  of  resentment.  Louis 
again  excused  himself  her  presence,  and,  making  his 
way  to  his  tryst  with  Leonora,  heard  as  he  approached 
the  grotto  the  high-toned  voice  of  Giovanna  beat- 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  235 

ing  down  the  frightened  protests  of  his  innamorata 
— they  were  together  in  the  grotto  !  The  Prince 
revealed  himself,  only  to  meet  the  scornful  invectives 
of  the  jealous  Queen.  She  demanded  to  know  the 
nature  of  Louis's  relations  with  her  serving-maid, 
and  when  she  had  heard  the  story  she  turned  upon 
Leonora  like  a  tiger.  Louis  stepped  before  the 
terrified  girl,  and  bade  Giovanna  abate  her  fury  and 
not  lay  hands  upon  a  woman  whom  he  loved. 
"  Leonora  has  done  more  than  you,  madam,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  to  mount  me  on  the  throne  of  Naples, 
and  you  shall  not  cause  me  to  descend  there- 
from !" 

The  Queen,  at  last  realizing  the  manner  of  man 
with  whom  she  had  to  deal,  was  intimidated  by  his 
boldness,  and  presently  she  left  the  grotto.  Leonora 
still  refused  Louis's  proposition,  and  before  the  day 
dawned  she  had  taken  her  flight  from  A  versa,  and 
was  well  on  her  wray  to  Rome,  to  claim  sanctuary. 
She  wrote  a  farewell  letter  to  her  royal  lover,  which 
a  faithful  dependent  of  her  father  safely  conveyed 
to  Naples.  King  Louis  offered  the  old  man  every 
possible  inducement  to  reveal  the  hiding-place  of  his 
young  mistress,  but  he  never  broke  the  seal  of  secrecy 
which  Leonora  placed  upon  him,  and  Louis  and 
Leonora  never  met  again. 

Louis  managed  to  evade  the  embraces  and  the 
advances  of  the  Queen.  He  had  been  espoused  to 
the  Princess  Margaret  of  Savoy,  and  although  he 
used  the  liberty  of  a  vigorous  and  a  level-headed 
young  manhood  under  the  silver-feathered  aegis  of 
Prince  Cupid,  he  was  not  forgetful  of  his  troth. 
Having  broken  the  back  of  the  opposition  of  Alfonso 
of  Aragon,  and  being  confident  of  the  support  of 


236    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Genoa  and  Milan,  he  lived  in  comparative  comfort 
and  peace  ;  but  he  withdrew  into  Calabria,  where  he 
was  for  a  time,  at  all  events,  safe  from  the  intrigues 
of  Giovanna.  During  this  interval  the  young  King 
made  repeated  visits  both  to  Angers  and  Chambery, 
to  greet  his  devoted  mother,  revive  the  sweet 
memories  of  his  boyhood,  and  to  cultivate  the  love 
of  his  fiance'e  Margaret,  now  growing  rapidly  to 
womanhood. 

The  whole  of  France  was  once  again  in  a  ferment. 
The  English,  driving  all  before  them,  captured  almost 
all  the  possessions  of  the  Crown.  Charles  VII.  was 
a  fugitive,  and  his  consort  Marie,  Louis's  beloved 
sister,  broken-hearted.  Rene,  his  younger  brother, 
was  fighting  for  his  own  in  Bar  and  Lorraine.  With 
the  chivalry  and  self-sacrifice  which  distinguished  all 
the  children  of  Louis  II.  and  Yolande,  he  placed  his 
sword  at  the  disposal  of  his  brother-in-law,  and  fell 
into  line  with  the  defenders  of  his  native  soil.  None 
of  the  French  King's  allies  held  themselves  more 
stoutly,  nor  were  anything  like  so  dependable,  as  was 
the  young  King  of  Sicily  and  Naples.  His  royal 
person  and  his  coroneted  helmet  were  ever  foremost 
in  the  battle ;  his  bravery  was  inspiring.  When 
matters  seemed  to  be  hopeless  and  the  flame  of 
France's  honour  appeared  to  be  extinguished,  the 
miraculous  mission  of  the  Maid  of  Domremy  cheered 
the  hearts  of  all  true  patriots.  She  chose  Rene"  as  her 
preux  chevalier,  and  her  place  was  at  the  head  of  the 
troops  under  his  orders.  Louis  III.  had  another 
post  of  danger  to  fill ;  he  and  his  command  were 
told  off  to  keep  watchful  eyes  upon  the  movements  of 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  By  his  excellent  strategy 
he  kept  the  English  apart  from  their  allies,  and 


KING    LADISLAUS   AND    QUEEN    GIOVANNA   II. 

From  a  Monument  by  A.  Ciccione.     Church  of  San  Giovanni 
a  Carbonara,  Naples 


To  face  page  23t> 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  237 

rendered  the  co-operation  of  the  Burgundians  im- 
possible. 

The  relief  of  Orleans  was  followed  by  the  amalga- 
mation of  the  two  French  armies,  led  so  brilliantly 
by  the  Angevine  royal  brothers,  and  the  victorious 
hosts  of  France  swept  Charles  and  his  Court  along 
with  them  triumphantly  to  his  Sacre  at  Reims. 
Released  from  his  duties  as  coadjutor  to  the  King 
of  France,  Louis  returned  south  again,  and  at  Geneva 
he  and  Margherita  di  Savoia  were  united  in  the 
bonds  of  matrimony.  The  royal  couple  left  imme- 
diately for  Marseilles,  and  sailed  away  to  Naples, 
accompanied  by  a  strong  squadron  of  war-galleys  of 
Venice  and  Genoa  ;  for  the  Venetians,  recognizing  the 
courage  and  the  ability  of  the  young  King,  and 
desirous  of  gaining  some  of  the  commercial  profits 
of  Neapolitan  trade,  joined  their  forces  to  the  banner 
of  the  Angevine  King  of  Naples. 

Once  more  in  his  capital  he  discovered  Queen 
Giovanna  wholly  under  the  influence  of  Gianni 
Caracciolo,  who  had  assumed  regal  attributes,  and 
was  personally  carrying  on  an  intrigue  to  supplant 
his  authority.  Louis  immediately  sent  for  the 
usurper,  asked  him  about  his  pretensions,  and  warned 
him  that  if  the  Queen,  as  he  said,  had  named  him 
her  Lieutenant-General,  he  (Louis)  was  his  undoubted 
Sovereign.  Caracciolo  took  the  King's  assumption 
of  his  kingly  rights  quite  nonchalantly,  and  replied 
insolently  that  as  long  as  Giovanna  lived  he  was  the 
mouthpiece  of  her  Government. 

The  favourite  of  the  Queen  was  not  a  persona 
grata  at  her  Court.  His  arrogance  and  presumption 
raised  up  enemies  on  every  side  ;  in  particular,  the 
old  nobility  looked  askance  upon  a  courtier  of  his  low 


238    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

origin.  Sergianni  was  by  name  a  Caracciolo,  by  birth 
the  son  of  a  common  woman — so  it  was  said.  The 
Queen's  Mistress  of  the  Robes  was  Covella  RufFo, 
Duchess  of  Sessa, — her  husband  was  a  pretender  to 
the  crown, — and  she  voiced  the  palace  discontent. 
She  boldly  demanded  of  Giovanna  the  immediate 
disgrace  of  her  Seneschal,  and  proclaimed  the  Court 
preference  for  King  Louis  and  his  fascinating  consort 
Margherita.  The  Queen  indignantly  stood  by 
Caracciolo,  and  forbade  the  Duchess  to  name  the 
matter  again.  Within  ten  days, — it  was  August  25, 
1432, — the  body  of  the  favourite  was  picked  up  by 
brethren  of  the  Misericordia  and  given  decent  burial. 
In  the  dead  man's  heart,  plunged  up  to  the  hilt,  was 
the  jewelled  poniard  of  the  Duchess  of  Sessa  !  The 
incident  passed,  for  the  Queen  deemed  it  inexpedient 
to  ask  for  explanations ;  besides,  she  had  become 
wearied  by  the  obsequiousness  of  her  Minister,  and 
she  had  other  fish  to  fry  !  With  rare  commercial 
acumen,  she  seized  all  Caracciolo's  belongings, — most 
of  them  he  had  received  from  herself, — and  actually, 
with  feminine  inconsequence,  shared  them  with  the 
Duchess ! 


III. 

Whilst  Louis  was  strengthening  his  position  at 
Naples,  Duke  Rene  of  Bar  and  Lorraine  was 
languishing  in  the  Tour  de  Bar  at  Bracon,  vanquished 
at  Bulgneville  and  crushed  by  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy.  Louis  added  his  protest  against  his 
brother's  retention  in  captivity  to  that  of  all  the 
Sovereigns  and  peers  of  France,  and  his  appeal  was 
carried  by  Queen  Margherita  to  her  father,  the  Duke 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  239 

of  Savoy,  whose  influence  was  great  with  the  Court 
of  Burgundy.  Rene's  release  on  parole  for  a  year 
was  largely  due  to  the  intercession  of  his  brother. 
Giovanna  expressed  a  wish  to  see  "  my  other  cousin 
of  Anjou,"  as  she  put  it,  and  Louis  pressed  his 
brother  to  bend  his  steps  to  Naples  and  recruit 
his  health  and  spirits  in  the  sunny,  merry  South. 
The  Duke's  first  step,  however,  was  to  hurry  off  to 
Nancy  to  fold  his  heroic  wife  Isabelle  and  darling 
children  to  his  breast ;  here,  too,  to  regulate  many 
affairs  of  State  awaiting  his  decision.  To  Angers 
next  he  boated,  to  pay  his  filial  homage  to  his 
courageous,  resourceful  mother,  Queen  Yolande,  and 
to  relieve  her  of  some  of  the  worry  of  government. 
Rene',  too,  had  much  business  to  do  at  the  Court  of 
King  Charles  of  France,  and  his  loyal,  devoted  subjects 
in  Provence  demanded  his  presence.  So  passed  nearly 
the  whole  of  his  twelvemonth's  grace. 

Giovanna's  reception  of  her  "  cousin  "  was  affec- 
tionate in  the  extreme,  and  she  was  warm  in  her 
admiration  of  "  another  handsome  Prince  of  Anjou." 

Nothing,  however,  would  suit  her  until  Rene  became 
her  guest,  and  as  such  he  went  through  all  the  weird 
experience  of  his  elder  brother.  It  mattered  not  to  the 
Queen  that  he  was  a  married  man  with  a  loving  wife 
and  dear  children  ;  what  mattered  to  her  was  that  he 
was  good-looking,  brave,  and  gallant.  To  be  sure, 
Rene's  serious  manner  disconcerted  her,  and  his 
artistic  tastes  bored  her,  but  under  his  studious 
courtesy  she  tried  to  believe  that  he  was  hiding  a 
lively  response  to  her  amorous  advances.  In  the 
presence  of  "  il  galantuomo  Re," — by  which  term  she 
always  saluted  Louis, — Giovanna  named  Ren6  second 

heir  to  her  kingdom,  and  successor  to  the  title  and 

16 


240     RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

estates  of  the  duchy  of  Calabria.  She  carefully 
refrained  from  inquiries  about  Duchess  Isabelle  ; 
indeed,  she  ignored  her  existence  altogether,  and  in 
this  line  of  conduct  she  was  quite  consistent,  for  she 
had  declined  to  receive  the  young  Queen  Margherita 
when  Louis  entered  Naples  with  her  in  state. 

Ren£,  however,  was  instrumental,  whilst  under 
the  fascination  of  Queen  Giovanna,  in  effecting  two 
matters  of  importance  for  the  kingdom  of  Naples 
and  its  people.  She  had  instructed  Giovanni 
Capistrani,  a  perfervid  son  of  Rome,  and  at  the  same 
time  an  admirer  of  the  Queen,  whom  she  had 
appointed  Court  Chamberlain,  to  persecute  the  Jews 
and  drive  them  away  from  Naples ;  all  such  as 
refused  exile  he  was  ordered  to  put  to  death.  Rene 
interposed  in  the  interpretation  of  these  decrees,  and 
gained  the  Queen's  consent  to  allow  the  persecuted 
race  to  remain  on  two  conditions  :  (1)  That  they 
should  not  exact  unjust  usury  ;  and  (2)  that  they 
should  be  marked  by  a  yellow  cross  to  differentiate 
them  from  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Crown. 
Rene"  further  suggested  to  Giovanna  that  the  Church 
needed  her  patronage,  that  she  herself  would  go  the 
way  of  all  flesh,  and  that  some  accommodation  with 
Heaven  was  very  desirable.  The  Queen  laughed  his 
counsel  to  scorn,  and  badgered  him  for  a  crusader 
and  a  churchling,  but  his  words  went  home 
even  to  her  hardened,  sensuous  heart.  Capistrani's 
unexpected  action,  moreover,  greatly  moved  her  ;  he 
resigned  his  Court  offices  and  emoluments,  and 
meekly  entered  a  monastery  of  St.  Francis  d'Assisi. 

Duke  Ren£  returned  to  his  prison  at  Dijon,  and 
King  Louis  took  his  bride  off  to  Cosenzn,  the  capital 
of  Calabria,  where  a  second  marriage  was  celebrated 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  241 

on  August  15,  1433,  to  allay  the  scruples  of  preju- 
diced adherents  of  the  Neapolitan  throne.  A  rumour 
had  been  spread, — originating,  it  was  said,  with  the 
Queen  herself, — which  affirmed  that  Margherita  was 
not  the  wife,  but  the  mistress,  of  the  royal  Duke  ! 
Eighteen  short  months  of  marital  bliss  were  enjoyed 
by  Louis  and  Margherita,  broken,  alas  !  by  a  fresh 
attack  by  Alfonso  in  force  on  Naples.  A  naval 
battle  off  Gaeta,  1434,  ended  disastrously  for  the 
fleet  of  Aragon.  Arrayed  against  it  were  the  allied 
forces  of  Genoa,  Venice,  Florence,  and  Milan. 
Alfonso  and  his  brother  Juan  were  taken  prisoners, 
and  carried  off  to  Milan  by  Duke  Filippo  Maria. 
Then  a  blow  fell  on  the  young  Queen  and  upon  the 
whole  kingdom  of  Naples,  which  made  itself  felt 
even  in  the  morbid  heart  of  Queen  Giovanna.  King 
Louis  caught  fever  besieging  the  city  of  Taranto, 
and  was  borne  swiftly  off  to  Cosenza,  where  he 
died,  in  his  own  fond  Queen's  arms,  on  November 
15,  1434.  Few  Princes  have  made  themselves  so 
universally  loved  as  Louis  III.  of  Sicily  and  Naples, 
and  never  were  there  so  many  sad  hearts  and  tearful 
eyes  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples  as  when  his  beloved 
body  was  laid  out  for  burial  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Cosenza. 

Giovanna  never  again  recovered  her  spirits ;  to  be 
sure,  she  did  not  renounce  her  evil  ways,  but  she  set 
about  in  a  hurry  to  put  into  execution  Duke  Renews 
suggestions.  Among  belated  pious  deeds,  she  rebuilt 
and  refounded  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  dell' 
Annunziata  by  way  of  penance  for  her  bad  life,  and 
there  she  was  buried  in  front  of  the  high-altar.  A 
simple  slab  of  marble  points  out,  in  the  absence  of 
a  grandiose  monument,  the  place  of  her  sepulture. 


242    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

She  died  February  2,  1435,  and  no  woman  wept  for 
her,  and  no  man  felt  grieved.  If  it  is  true  that  "  the 
evil  which  men  do  dies  with  them,"  then  we  must 
not  rake  up  the  tainting  memories  of  an  evil  past. 
Giovanna  II.,  Queen  of  Naples,  has  passed  to  her 
last  account,  and  before  Heaven's  tribunal  will  she 
stand,  alongside  with  the  victims  of  her  vampire- 
love.  Faraglia,  in  his  "  Storia,  della  Regina  Giovanna, 
II.  d'Angio"  makes  a  brave  attempt  to  whitewash 
the  character  of  the  Queen,  and  he  records  many 
interesting  details  in  her  daily  life.  "  Every  morn- 
ing," he  says,  "  she  rose  with  the  sun,  spent  one  hour 
at  Mass  and  private  devotions ;  then  she  applied 
herself  to  the  study  of  music  and  literature  ;  at  noon 
she  breakfasted,  generally  alone,  the  afternoon  she 
gave  to  exercise,  and  before  dinner  she  bathed  in  a 
bath  supplied  with  the  milk  of  one  hundred  asses." 
Apparently  the  Queen  gave  no  time  to  affairs  of 
State,  and  she  had  not  much  leisure  for  company. 
Undoubtedly  Queen  Giovanna  was  the  friend  of  art 
and  craft,  but  only  so  far  as  their  exponents  helped 
to  enhance  her  own  attractions  and  luxuries.  Antonio 
Solario — "  II  Zingaro  " — was  her  favourite  painter, 
and,  by  the  oddest  of  irrational  conventions,  he  has 
represented  her  in  an  altar-piece  as  the  Virgin  Mary 
with  the  Infant  Christ,  and  surrounded  by  a  court  of 
saints  ! 

With  what  feelings  the  news  of  the  death  of 
Louis  III.  at  Cosenza  was  received  by  Rene  in  his 
prison  chamber  at  Tour  de  Bar  we  may  well  imagine. 
The  hold  of  his  house  upon  the  kingdom  of  Naples 
was,  of  course,  of  the  weakest  ;  and  if  the  late  King 
upon  the  spot,  free  to  move  what  troops  and  stores 
he  had  at  will,  was  unable  to  retain  command  of 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  243 

Naples,  how  could  a  captive  Prince  away  in  Burgundy 
hope  to  enforce  successfully  his  claim  as  his  brother's 
heir  ? 

In  Provence  and  Anjou  and  beyond  the  borders  of 
his  dominions,  with  Bar  and  Lorraine,  and  with  the 
sympathy  and  assistance  of  friendly  Sovereigns  and 
Princes  at  home  and  abroad,  he  had,  of  course, 
numberless  loyal  subjects,  friends,  and  allies,  but 
among  them  all  not  one  could  enthuse  his  cause  as 
he  could  himself  in  person.  Three  devoted  Prin- 
cesses,— Yolande,  Isabelle,  and  Marguerite, — were 
doing  all  they  could  to  free  him  from  his  captivity. 
Their  efforts  were  in  the  schools  of  sympathy  and 
politics,  but  they  could  not  lead  troops  or  command  a 
victorious  army.  No  doubt  Rene  was  depressed  and 
in  despair  at  the  apparent  paralysis  of  all  effective 
assistance.  Then  came  the  crushing  intelligence  that 
Giovanna,  the  Queen  of  Naples,  was  dead,  and  that 
he  (Rene")  was  de  facto  King.  This  must  have  made 
him  desperate.  He  had  no  resources,  and  there 
appeared  no  possibility  of  his  obtaining  possession  of 
his  rights.  How  he  chafed  and  fumed  as  he  paced 
his  spacious  chamber,  and  how  defiantly  he  must  have 
gazed  through  its  barred  windows  and  at  its  closed 
door  !  Duke  Rene's  brain  must  have  reeled. 

Relief,  however,  came  in  quite  an  unexpected  sort 
of  way.  One  morning  the  bolts  of  his  door  were 
noisily  shot  back,  and  upon  the  threshold  he  beheld 
two  foreign  gentlemen  unknown  to  him.  They  knelt 
and  kissed  his  hand  ;  then  they  offered  him  a  permit 
from  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  a  sealed  letter  from 
Duchess  (now  Queen)  Isabelle,  and  a  great  official 
despatch  from  the  lately  deceased  Queen  Giovanna. 
The  two  emissaries  were  devoted  adherents  to  the 


244    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

House  of  Anjou-Provence — Baron  Charles  de  Mon- 
telar  and  Signore  Vidal  di  Cabarus.  They  came,  as 
their  credentials  ordered,  directly  from  the  deathbed 
of  the  Queen,  to  tell  him  from  her  that,  "  for  the  sake 
of  the  love  I  had  for  King  Louis, — now,  alas ! 
departed, — I  chose  his  noble  brother  Rene  as  my 
heir  and  successor.  Long  live  King  Rene' !"  Into 
his  hand  the  two  gentlemen  delivered  the  Sovereign's 
medallion  and  its  royal  chain  of  gold,  and  again  they 
did  obeisance  to  their  new  Sovereign. 

Rend  accepted  their  homage  chivalrously,  if  sorrow- 
fully, but  his  eye  wandered  to  the  smaller  packet  held 
by  di  Cabarus,  for  he  saw  it  was  addressed  to  him  in 
his  dear  wife's  handwriting.  Tearing  open  the  cover, 
he  read  with  tears  in  his  eyes  the  startling  news  that — 

"  Even  whilst  thou,  my  fond  spouse,  readest  these 
presents,  I,  thy  loyal  wife  and  royal  consort,  am 
setting  off  at  once,  well  mounted  and  numerously 
attended,  to  Marseilles  to  take  shipping  for  Naples, 
there  to  receive  in  thy  name  the  homage  of  the 
Estates  and  to  assume  the  government.  I  am  taking 
with  me  our  second  boy,  Louis,  with  Yolande  and 
Marguerite,  to  show  them  to  thy  Neapolitan  subjects, 
but  Jean  I  shall  send  to  thee  to  comfort  thee,  by  the 
grace  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  My  sweet  mother 
will  accompany  him  to  cheer  thee  and  to  tell  thee  of 
my  good  estate.  Fare  thee  well,  beloved. 

"  Your  ISABELLE. 

"Ax  NANCY,  1434." 

Isabelle  had  learned  promptness  and  wisdom  from 
her  good  mother-in-law,  Queen  Yolande,  as  well  as 
decision  and  courage  from  her  father,  Duke  Charles, 
and  all  these  royal  virtues  she  exhibited  magnificently 
at  this  extraordinary  juncture.  The  two  Neapolitan 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  245 

envoys  had,  it  appeared,  gone  direct  to  Nancy  to 
learn  their  new  Queen's  pleasure,  and  had  thus 
become  the  bearers  of  her  exhilarating  mandate. 
Rene  received  the  intelligence  of  the  masterful  action 
of  his  spouse  with  mixed  feelings.  He  knelt  at  his 
prie-dieu,  and  thanked  God  and  the  saints  for  the 
noble  self-sacrifice  of  his  wife  ;  then,  rising  proudly 
from  his  knees,  he  embraced  his  two  visitors,  bestowed 
upon  each  a  ring  from  his  own  fingers,  and  gave  them 
instructions  to  carry  his  duty  to  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy, praying  for  his  instant  release,  and  then  to 
proceed  to  Marseilles  to  convey  to  Queen  Isabelle  his 
blessing  and  his  approval  of  her  splendid  enterprise. 
No  sooner  was  he  left  to  himself  once  more  than  he 
collapsed,  weeping  like  a  child  and  chiding  his  Maker 
and  his  captor  in  language  lurid  and  forcible.  The 
irony  of  his  position  nearly  drove  him  mad. 

Queen  Isabelle  landed  at  Naples  in  due  course, 
and  became  the  object  of  an  extraordinary  outburst 
of  enthusiasm.  Hailed  as  Queen,  and  with  King 
Renews  name  ever  reverberating  from  loyal  lip  to 
loyal  lip,  she  made  no  mistake,  she  had  no  illusions, 
for  she  faced  the  fact  at  once  that  there  were  other 
claimants  for  the  vacant  throne  and  the  uneasy 
crown.  The  King  of  Aragon  she  knew  as  a  tradi- 
tional rival,  and  with  him  she  had  to  deal  most 
seriously  and  methodically.  He,  indeed,  directly 
news  of  the  Queen's  death  reached  him,  had  seized 
the  Castle  of  Gaeta,  and  thence  had  issued  a  proc- 
lamation claiming  the  vacant  throne.  The  Duke  of 
Sessa,  the  husband  of  Queen  Giovanna's  favourite 
confidante,  Duchess  Sancia,  claimed  the  throne  as 
representing, — in  descent  from  Robert,  Count  of 
Avellino,  her  second  husband, — Maria  of  Calabria- 


246    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Durazzo,  sister  of  Queen  G-iovanna  I.  The  Prince 
of  Taranto,  grand-nephew  of  Giovanna  I.'s  third 
husband  and  of  her  sister  Maria's  third  spouse,  the 
Emperor  of  Constantinople,  entered  his  claims  to 
the  whole  kingdom.  He  pretended  also  that  King 
Louis  III.,  Rent's  brother,  had  before  his  death  at 
Cosenza  made  him  his  heir  of  all  Calabria.  From 
a  distant  kingdom  came  still  another  claimant. 
The  King  of  Hungary,  Andrew,  first  consort  of 
Giovanna  I.,  had  by  her  a  son,  it  was  affirmed,  but 
who  it  was  alleged  had  died  in  infancy.  This  child, 
it  was  maintained,  was  living,  now  grown  to  man's 
estate.  The  child  who  died,  and  was  buried  as  the 
Queen's  son,  was  the  son  of  a  servant  in  the  royal 
suite,  whilst  the  young  Prince  was  removed  from  his 
mother's  care  and  carried  off  to  Hungary,  and  thus 
reared. 

Isabelle  brushed  all  these  claims  aside, — save  that 
of  Alfonso,  who  alone  of  the  pretenders  to  the 
crown  was  prepared  to  take  up,  as  he  had  done  for 
years,  the  rights  of  Aragon  in  Naples,  by  force  of 
arms.  Everywhere  throughout  the  kingdom  the 
Anjou  dynasty  was  popular ;  the  country  people 
swore  by  Louis  III.,  and  acclaimed  the  proclamation 
of  Rene\  The  army  alone  was  disaffected,  and  was 
corrupted  by  Spanish  gold.  The  royal  treasury  at 
Naples  was  empty,  the  pay  of  the  loyal  troops  was 
in  arrears ;  corruption  and  fraud  filled  every  depart- 
ment of  State.  The  country  gentry  and  peasantry 
were  ruined ;  they  had  been  taxed  and  supertaxed 
by  the  minions  of  Queen  Giovanna  II.  From  Provence 
and  Anjou  not  much  monetary  help  could  be  expected, 
and  Lorraine  and  Bar  were  impoverished.  All  France 
was  suffering  from  the  wreck  of  the  Hundred  Years' 


GUARINI   DA   VERONA   PRESENTING   HIS   TRANSLATION   OF   STRABO'S    WORK   ON 
GEOGRAPHY   TO    KING   RENE 

From  a  Miniature  by  King  Rene.     Albi  Library 


To  face  page  246 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  247 

War.  Rent's  ransom  required  almost  every  penny 
Yolande,  Isabelle,  and  Marguerite,  could  raise  by  love 
and  threat.  What  could  be  done  ? 

The  new  Queen  had  come  to  Naples  to  claim  and 
hold  the  kingdom  for  her  husband,  and  she  made  up 
her  mind  that  she  would  try  every  expedient  to  that 
end,  cost  what  it  might.  To  steal  and  to  borrow 
were  not  lines  of  conduct  that  appealed  to  her,  but 
she  could  beg,  and  beg  she  did.  Upon  this  circum- 
stance historians  have  fastened,  and  have  written 
more  or  less  eloquently  in  praise  of  a  dauntless 
Queen.  After  making  up  her  mind  to  this  course 
of  action,  Isabelle  at  once  put  it  into  operation,  and 
an  immense  sensation  was  created  in  the  city  when 
their  beautiful  and  virtuous  Queen,  clothed  simply 
in  native  Neapolitan  garb,  without  jewels  or  marks 
of  royalty,  took  her  place  morning  by  morning 
outside  the  palace,  in  the  open  square,  a  macaroni 
basket  in  her  fair,  white,  ringless  hands,  and  there 
pleaded  eloquently,  in  her  sweet  and  musical  voice, 
for  contributions  for  the  honour  of  the  King  and  for 
the  defence  of  the  city.  By  her  side,  clad  in 
Neapolitan  costumes,  were  her  three  little  children — 
innocent,  fresh,  and  comely.  "  It  was,"  wrote  a 
chronicler,  "a  spectacle  to  move  the  heart  and  soul 
of  a  marble  statue — if  such  it  hath.  A  Queen  of 
high  degree  and  impeccability  humbling  herself  for 
her  new  country's  good.  Looking  upon  her  and  her 
children,  one  conjured  up  the  base  contrast  offered 
to  our  outraged  nature  by  the  late  Queen,  of 
infamous  memory." 

Money  flowed  in  fast  and  full,  and  the  wicker 
cash-box  daily  carried  almost  more  weight  of  copper 
and  silver,  and  of  articles  of  jewellery,  than  the  fine 


248    RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

strength  of  the  virago  Queen  could  support.  Isabelle 
set  about  a  thorough  overhauling  of  the  resources  of 
the  national  exchequer.  She  personally  rallied  troops, 
and  inspected  militarily  her  recruits ;  arrears  of  pay 
were  forthcoming,  and  the  better-disposed  men  of 
affairs  she  intuitively  selected,  and  thus  purged  the 
seats  of  government.  The  King  of  Aragon,  amazed 
at  Isabelle's  courage  and  ability,  refrained  from 
attacking  Naples.  "  I'll  fight  with  men,"  he  said, 
"  not  with  a  woman  !"  he  exclaimed.  "  Let  us  see 
what  she  will  do." 

The  state  of  Naples  in  general,  and  of  the  Court 
in  particular,  was  worse  than  that  of  any  Augean 
stable.  Indeed,  of  Court,  strictly  speaking,  there  was 
none,  for  the  less  disreputable  nobles  had  long  ago 
gone  away  to  their  country  estates,  taking  the  seeds 
of  corruption  with  them  to  sow  among  their  tenantry. 
The  coteries  which  gathered  around  the  abandoned 
Queen  like  eagles  round  a  carcass  were  split  up  into 
murderous,  lustful  parties,  and  divided  among  evil- 
conditioned  brothels.  Every  man  was  every  woman's 
prey,  and  every  woman  at  the  mercy  of  a  libertine. 
The  whole  city  was  a  colossal  orgie,  and  its  inhabi- 
tants sunk  in  the  slough  of  unmitigated  filth.  The 
turpitude  of  Pompeii  found  a  parallel  in  the  un- 
righteousness of  Naples.  To  pull  aside  the  veil  which 
merciful  Time  has  placed  over  those  years  of  banality 
and  crime  would  be  a  sacrilege. 

"  Down  among  the  dead  men  let  them  lie  !" 

Queen  Isabelle,  aghast,  pulled  her  veil  more  closely 
over  her  fair  features,  fixed  her  teeth,  and  clenched 
her  hands.  Giovanna  and  all  her  doings  were  taboo 
to  her,  and  by  the  example  and  precept  of  a  good 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  249 

woman  she  gradually  accomplished  what  appeared  to 
be  a  Herculean  task — she  brought  the  Neapolitans 
to  their  senses.  Mind,  in  those  rapidly  pulsating 
Southern  natures,  quickly  controls  action,  and  the 
human  animal  is  not  all  bad  even  when  so  predestined 
by  Providence.  Isabelle's  administration  of  the 
kingdom  of  Naples  during  the  three  years  of  her 
sole  government  was  by  way  of  being  a  moral 
renascene  of  humanity,  and,  when  Rene  joined  his 
noble  consort,  the  roses  which  decorated  his  triumphal 
entry  were  richly  perfumed  by  his  wife's  sweet  cul- 
ture. 

The  prisoner  of  Bracon  was  set  unconditionally 
free  in  1437,  and  he  hurried  away  to  Marseilles, 
passing  through  his  beloved  country  of  Provence, 
hailed  everywhere  and  by  everyone  with  ecstatic 
devotion.  At  his  port  of  departure  for  Naples  he 
was  met  by  Queen  Yolande.  Never  was  there  a 
more  affecting  scene  :  the  mother, — still  bearing 
traces  of  her  early  beauty  and  grace, — bowed  down 
with  grief  and  aged  prematurely ;  the  son  grown 
older  than  his  age  under  the  rigours,  mental  and 
physical,  of  his  long  imprisonment,  but  still  devoted, 
grateful,  and  chivalrous.  Yolande  had  fain  pressed 
Rene"  to  remain  in  France  and  comfort  her  declining 
years,  for,  were  they  parted,  she  felt  that  she  never 
more  should  fold  him  to  her  heart — a  heart  pierced 
deeply  by  the  premature  death  of  Louis.  Yet  she 
played  the  Spartan  mother,  not  spectacularly  but 
sincerely,  and,  hushing  the  sobs  of  parting,  she  bravely 
waved  the  King  of  Naples  her  last  farewell.  His 
father  and  his  brother  had  both  traversed  the  way 
Rene  was  taking ;  their  experience  would  doubtless 
be  his. 


250    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Rene  had  a  great  reception  at  Naples,  and  his  joy 
was  unclouded  when  he  embraced  his  noble  wife  and 
his  four  young  children,  with  tears  coursing  down  his 
cheeks.  His  recognition  as  Sovereign  was  celebrated 
in  the  cathedral.  There  he  and  Isabelle  knelt  hand 
in  hand  in  thankful  confidence.  Not  long  did  the 
newT  King  remain  in  the  bosorn  of  his  family.  Alfonso 
broke  his  parole,  and  prepared  a  fresh  expedition  to 
attack  Naples.  Rene  went  off  at  once  to  Rome, 
Florence,  Venice,  Genoa,  and  Milan,  to  rally  help  in 
his  emergency.  During  his  captivity  the  King  of 
Aragon  had  played  the  cards  so  adroitly  that  he  had 
succeeded  in  detaching  the  Duke,  his  captor,  from 
the  triple  alliance.  Moreover,  he  gained  over  to  his 
side  Pope  Eugenius  IV.  by  promising  to  make  Sicily 
a  fief  of  the  Church.  The  Aragonese  attack  failed, 
though  the  forces  at  King  Rene's  command  suffered 
terribly. 

At  this  juncture  Queen  Isabelle  and  her  children, 
except  the  heir  to  the  throne,  returned  to  France, 
much  against  her  will,  but  obedient  to  her  royal 
consort's  wishes.  Jean,  Duke  of  Calabria,  now  a 
promising  lad  of  nearly  thirteen,  remained  with  his 
father  at  the  post  of  danger.  Alfonso  was  by  no 
means  discouraged ;  he  intended  to  be  master  of 
Naples  cost  him  what  it  might.  In  1440  and  1441 
he  made  fresh  assaults  on  Naples  and  other  seaports 
of  the  Calabrian  peninsula.  All  of  these  Rene 
resisted  triumphantly,  but  at  Troia,  on  October  21 
in  the  latter  year,  Alfonso  in  person  defeated  Rene's 
army  under  the  command  of  Sforza  and  Sanseverino, 
and  made  good  his  footing  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples. 
He  further  pressed  home  his  attack  upon  the  capital 
by  seizing  the  island  of  Ischia,  where  he  compelled 


GIOVANNA  II.  DA  NAPOLI  251 

the  women,  whether  married  or  not,  to  wed  his 
victorious  soldiers.  Rene  wearied  of  the  contest ; 
he  had  been  warring  for  twenty  years,  and  he 
yearned  for  repose.  The  Neapolitans  quickly  took 
his  measure,  and  his  indecision  and  slackness  of 
energy  disheartened  his  principal  supporters.  His 
troops  fell  away  from  him,  and  when,  in  May,  1442, 
the  King  of  Aragon  once  more  summoned  the  capital 
to  surrender,  Rene  meekly  handed  over  the  keys  to 
his  enemy,  and  made  his  escape  to  Marseilles. 
Alfonso  on  June  2  entered  Naples  in  triumph,  and 
put  an  end  to  the  rule  of  the  Angevine  Kings. 

Alfonso  has  been  styled  "the  Magnanimous"; 
perhaps  "  the  Philosopher "  would  fit  his  character 
better.  He  was  a  student  of  metaphysics  and  a 
classicist  to  boot,  and,  moreover,  he  had  a  ready  wit. 
He  hated  dancing  and  frivolity,  and  once  remarked 
that  "a  man  who  danced  only  differed  from  a  fool 
because  his  folly  was  shorter  1"  An  ideal  domestic 
menage  appeared  to  him  to  be  "a  blind  wife  and  a 
deaf  husband."  His  treasurer  was  one  day  giving 
out  scrip  for  20,000  ducats,  when  an  officer 
standing  by  exclaimed  :  "  Alack,  if  I  only  had  that 
amount  I  should  be  a  happy  man  !"  "  Take  it," 
replied  the  King  ! 

Nevertheless,  Alfonso  was  hated  by  his  new 
subjects  quite  as  thoroughly  as  Rene"  had  been 
beloved.  The  war  dragged  on ;  in  Calabria  the 
Prince  of  Taranto  raised  once  more  the  banner  of 
Anjou,  and  Giovanni  Toreglia,  a  cousin  of  Lucrezia 
d'Alagni,  Alfonso's  last  mistress,  seized  Ischia  for 
Jean,  Duke  of  Calabria,  Rene's  eldest  son.  Rene 
himself  made  two  more  attempts  to  regain  Giovanna's 
inheritance  :  in  1458  and  1461  ;  but  Charles  VII. 


252    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

and  Louis  XI.  each  failed  him  in  turn  with  reinforce- 
ments. Last  of  all,  Jean,  Duke  of  Calabria,  was 
decisively  defeated  at  Troia  in  1462  by  Ferdinand  I., 
Alfonso's  bastard  son,  who  succeeded  to  the  throne 
of  Naples  after  his  father's  death  in  1458,  a  man 
treacherous  and  vindictive,  and  a  libertine.  "  Sic 
transit  gloria  mundi  "  may  be  written  as  a  footnote 
to  the  story  of  Naples  in  the  fifteenth  century. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

MARGUERITE    D'ANJOU "THE    MOST    INTREPID  OP    QUEENS " 

I. 

"  MARGARET  OF  ANJOU  was  the  loveliest,  the  best- 
educated,  and  the  most  fearless  Princess  in  Christen- 
dom !"  High  praise  indeed,  but  not  more  than  her 
due,  and  universally  accorded  her  by  every  historian 
who  has  undertaken  to  chronicle  her  character  and 
career. 

Born  at  the  Castle  of  Pont-a-Mousson, — one  of 
the  finest  in  all  Lorraine,  and  a  favourite  residence 
of  her  father  and  mother, — on  March  23,  1429, 
Margaret  was  the  youngest  child  of  Rene,  Duke  of 
Bar,  and  Isabelle  of  Lorraine  his  wife.  Her  father 
was  far  away  from  his  home  when  this  pretty  babe 
first  smiled  upon  her  sweet  mother.  He  was  escort- 
ing La  Pucelle  to  Chinon,  and  leading  the  troops 
of  Charles  VII.  to  victory.  Her  mother  was 
Lieutenant-General  of  the  duchies — a  devoted  and 
heroic  spouse.  The  little  girl's  cradle  was  rocked 
amid  the  rivalries  and  hostilities  of  the  Houses  of 
Lorraine  and  Vaudemont.  She  was  the  child  of 
Mars.  She  was  baptized  by  Henri  de  Ville,  Bishop 
of  Toul,  who  had  just  been  created,  by  the  Emperor 

Sigismund,    Prince    of    the    Holy    Roman    Empire. 

253 


254    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

The   Bishop  was  a  trusty  friend  of  Duke  Rene  in 
shower  and  shine. 

That  ducal  nursery,  where  faithful  Theophaine  la 
Magine  bore  maternal  nursing  sway,  was  a  merry 
one ;  for  Margaret's  brothers  Jean,  Louis,  and  little 
Nicholas, — twin  with  her  only  sister  Yolande, — were 
all  vigorous  youngsters.  Then,  besides  these  legiti- 
mate children,  the  Castle  of  Bar-le-Duc  sheltered 
another  Jean  and  Blanche  and  Madeleine,  born  to 
their  father  out  of  wedlock.  The  ducal  sepulchre 
had  given  rest  to  two  other  baby  boys,  Charles  and 
Rene,  own  brothers  to  little  Margaret. 

Margaret's  experience  of  the  joys  and  sorrows  of 
the  world  began  at  a  very  early  age.  Her  doting 
father  was  a  captive  away  at  Dijon  under  the 
rigorous  hand  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  Duchess 
Isabelle  was  up  and  about  seeking  his  deliverance. 
Rene  and  she  had  succeeded  Charles  II.  as  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Lorraine  the  same  year  that  saw  the 
Tour  de  Bar  receive  its  distinguished  prisoner,  and 
upon  Isabelle  fell  all  the  complications  and  difficulties 
attending  the  succession.  To  be  sure,  she  had  the 
very  able  help  of  the  Dowager  Duchess,  her  own 
dear  mother  Marguerite,  godmother  of  her  little  girl, 
but  the  first  consideration  in  her  mind  was  her 
husband's  liberty.  Handing  over  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment to  Duchess  Marguerite  and  the  Council  of 
State,  Isabelle  betook  herself  to  the  Court  of 
Charles  VII.  to  claim  his  assistance  and  interference. 
With  her  she  took  her  two  little  daughters — Yolande, 
only  three  years  old,  and  Margaret,  but  two.  Her 
sons  were  sent  to  Burgundy  to  stand  as  hostages  at 
the  Duke's  orders,  and  little  Nicholas  remained  with 
his  grandmother  at  Nancy. 


MARGUERITE  D  ANJOTT 
From  a  Miniature  by  King  Rene,  in  "  Le  Livre  des  Heures  " 


To  fact  pay*  254 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  255 

At  Vienne,  where  the  French  Court  was  at  the 
time,  having  gone  south  from  Reims  and  the  corona- 
tion, the  King  gave  his  brother-in-law's  consort  a 
very  hearty  greeting,  but  he  hesitated  to  commit 
himself  to  action  which  might  ferment  once  more 
evil  blood  between  his  people  and  the  Burgundians. 
Isabelle  held  by  their  hands,  as  she  pleaded  for  her 
dear  husband,  her  two  baby  girls,  and  Charles's 
indecision  was  overcome  by  little  Margaret,  then  a 
dauntless  infant,  who  ran  up  to  him  and  insisted 
upon  being  nursed  upon  his  knee  and  kissed.  A 
child's  instinctive  disingenuousness  is  affected  by 
magnetic  natures  regardless  of  conventions  and  pro- 
prieties ;  how  often  and  often  again  is  this  proved 
to  be  axiomatic  !  That  interview  was  memorable 
for  the  meeting  of  Charles  with  a  woman — to  be  sure, 
then  a  girl — who  would  in  after-years  affect  him  and 
his  considerably.  Agnes  Sorel  was  in  attendance 
upon  the  Duchess  Isabelle.  Charles  beheld  her  for 
the  first  time,  and  her  face  and  figure  haunted  him 
for  good  and  ill  many  a  long  day. 

Not  content  with  winning  over  the  King  of  France 
to  intercede  for  the  liberation  of  her  consort,  the 
Duchess  returned  to  Lorraine,  and  went  off  at  once 
to  Vaude'mont  to  plead  with  Count  Antoine,  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy's  brother,  in  the  same  cause. 
Vaudemont  agreed  to  assist  his  kinswoman,  but 
upon  one  chief  condition,  among  others — that  she 
would  consent  to  Yolande,  her  eldest  daughter,  being 
betrothed  to  his  eldest  son  Ferri.  There  was,  of 
course,  method  in  this  extraordinary  proposal, — for 
the  child  was  only  three  years  of  age, — and  it  was 
this  :  He,  the  Count,  claimed  Lorraine,  by  the  Salic 

Law,  as  first    heir  male   against    Isabelle.       What- 

17 


256    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

ever  might  eventuate,  his  son  married  to  Rene's 
daughter  would  be  an  additional  lien  upon  the 
duchy.  This  policy  also  commended  itself  to 
Isabelle's  prudential  mind,  and  she  gave  a  qualitative 
consent  dependent  upon  confirmation  by  Duke  Rene 
later  on.  The  Count  added  a  rider  to  the  stipulation, 
and  that  was  the  committal  of  the  girl  to  the  care 
of  his  wife,  the  Countess,  for  education  and  training. 
This,  too,  the  Duchess  accepted,  although  it  cost 
her  sore  to  part  with  her  dear  child.  Margaret  and 
Nicholas  alone  remained  to  solace  her ;  but  Isabelle 
was  far  too  strong  a  character  to  spend  much  time 
in  comforting  or  being  comforted.  Whilst  Rene  was 
in  durance  vile  she  could  not  remain  idle  ;  so  off  she 
went,  taking  Margaret  and  Nicholas  with  her,  to 
the  Castle  of  Tarascon,  in  order  to  enlist  the  sym- 
pathies and  services  of  Rene's  devoted  Provencals. 

Isabelle's  coming  into  Provence  provoked  remark- 
able demonstrations  on  the  part  of  the  warm- 
hearted and  loyal  subjects  of  the  county.  Trou- 
badours and  glee  maidens  flocked  to  the  Rhone 
shore  ;  they  sang,  they  danced,  they  ate,  they  drank, 
and  laid  floral  offerings  and  votive  crowns  at  the  feet 
of  their  Countess  and  her  tender  children.  Bonfires 
blazed  from  shore  to  shore,  and  echoes  of  the  rejoic- 
ings might  have  been  carried  by  the  warm  south  wind 
right  into  the  dungeoned  ears  of  their  beloved  Count. 
Whilst  Duchess  Isabelle  was  in  residence  at  Tarascon 
negotiations  were  already  on  foot  for  the  betrothal 
of  little  Margaret.  An  eligible  suitor  arrived,  the 
young  Pierre  de  Luxembourg,  eldest  son  of  the  Count 
of  St.  Pol,  whose  esquire,  by  a  singular  coincidence, 
happened  to  be  the  recipient  at  Bulgneville  of 
Duke  Rene's  sword.  Arrangements  for  the  cere- 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  257 

mony  of  espousal  were,  however,  rudely  interrupted 
by  a  serious  outbreak  of  plague,  and  Isabelle 
and  her  children  fled  to  Marseilles,  where  they 
remained  till  Rene  joined  them,  released  upon  a 
year's  parole. 

When  Rene  was  proclaimed  King  of  Sicily, 
Naples,  and  Jerusalem,  Duke  of  Anjou,  and  Count 
of  Provence,  upon  the  premature  death  of  his  elder 
brother,  Louis  III.,  at  Cosenza,  Isabelle  was  again 
at  Marseilles,  on  her  way  to  take  possession  of  her 
husband's  rights  in  Naples.  Such  pageants  and 
spectacles  at  those  exhibited  in  her  honour  by  the 
exuberant  Marseillais  that  city  had  never  seen.  She 
rode  through  ranks  on  ranks  of  cheering  citizens, 
in  a  great  state  chariot  covered  with  crimson  and 
gold,  and  wearing  a  queenly  crown  upon  her  head, 
and  with  her  were  Jean,  her  eldest  son,  and  Margaret 
and  Nicholas.  The  little  Princess  captivated  every- 
body by  her  naivete  and  the  graceful  kissing  of  her 
little  hand.  Margaret  sent  kisses  flying  through 
every  street,  winning  all  men's  loyalty  and  the  love 
of  all  the  boys. 

Queen  Isabelle  and  her  children  took  up  their 
residence  at  the  Palace  of  Capua.  Queen  Giovanna 
offered  her  the  new  royal  palace  in  Naples,  but 
Isabelle's  instinct  was  not  in  error  when  she  chose 
to  dwell  a  little  distance  from  the  royal  hussy. 
There  King  Rene  joined  his  family,  bringing  with 
him  both  Louis,  his  second  son,  and  Yolande.  The 
reunion  was  the  happiest  that  could  be.  Upon  the 
King  devolved,  of  course,  the  onus  of  government, 
with  the  co-operation  of  Queen  Giovanna.  Queen 
Isabelle,  relieved  from  the  trammels  of  the  executive, 
had  now  a  much-longed-for  respite  in  which  to  give 


258     REN£  D1  ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

attention  to  the  neglected  education  of  her  children. 
She  constituted  herself  their  teacher-in-chief,  but 
called  to  her  assistance  the  very  noted  writer  of 
French  romance,  Antoine  de  Salle.  Alas  !  it  was  a 
brief  interlude  indeed,  for  the  studies  had  hardly 
had  time  to  affect  the  young  pupils  when  the  King 
of  Aragon  resumed  his  hostile  demonstration  against 
the  Angevine  dynasty,  and  Rene  and  his  were 
locked  in  the  grip  of  war.  Very  unwillingly  Queen 
Isabelle  agreed  to  return  to  France  with  her  children, 
Naples  being  an  armed  camp  and  the  whole  country 
in  a  turmoil.  They  wended  their  way  leisurely  to 
Anjou,  and  not  to  Lorraine.  Two  reasons  dictated 
this  course.  Angers  was  the  capital  par  excellence 
of  the  .dominions  of  the  King  of  Sicily- Anjou,  the 
ancestral  seat  of  his  house,  and  Anjou  was  more 
favourably  conditioned  than  Lorraine  or  Bar  for  the 
completion  of  the  training  of  the  royal  children. 
Queen  Yolande  was  only  too  delighted  to  welcome 
her  brave  daughter-in-law  and  to  caress  her  beloved 
grandchildren.  She  went  off  to  the  Castle  of 
Saumur,  her  favourite  residence,  and  the  walls  of  the 
grim  Castle  of  Angers  once  more  resounded  to  the 
merry  laughter  of  childish  games.  Sadly  enough 
those  joyous  sounds  yielded  place  to  saddest  dirges 
when  Prince  Nicholas,  not  yet  ten  years  old,  died 
suddenly  of  poison.  This  was  the  first  break  by 
Death  into  that  home  circle. 

The  King  and  Queen  were  again  in  residence  at 
the  Castle  of  Tarascon  in  1443,  and  there,  on 
February  2,  they  received  an  imposing  mission  from 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  headed  by  Guillaume 
Harancourt,  Bishop  of  Verdun,  the  Seigneurs  Pierre 
de  Beaupremont  and  Adolphe  de  Charny,  with 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  250 

Antoine  de  Gaudel^  the  Duke's  principal  secretary. 
They  came  to  Tarascon  to  negotiate  a  marriage 
between  the  Duke's  nephew,  Charles  de  Borugges, 
son  of  Philippe,  Count  of  Nevers,  and  the  Princess 
Margaret.  This  bridegroom  expectant  had  been  very 
much  in  the  matrimonial  market  before  accepting  the 
choice  of  his  uncle.  His  first  fiancee  was  Jeanne, 
daughter  of  Robert,  Count  de  la  Marche  ;  she  gave 
place  to  Anne,  Duchess  of  Austria  ;  and  she  in  turn 
was  passed  over  before  the  greater  charms  of  the 
Angevine  Princess.  The  contract  of  betrothal  with 
Pierre  de  Luxembourg  was  cancelled,  and  Charles  de 
Nevers  was  the  choice  of  Rene  and  Isabelle. 

The  date  for  signing  the  marriage  contract  was 
fixed,  February  4,  and  to  all  the  articles  the  King 
and  Queen  readily  assented.  The  dowry  was 
50,000  livres,  but  how  that  large  sum  was  to  be 
raised  neither  Rene  nor  Isabelle  had  the  slightest 
idea ;  they  had  exhausted  their  exchequer  in  the 
fruitless  fight  for  Naples.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
acting  as  next  of  kin  to  the  bridegroom-elect,  promised 
to  settle  a  jointure  of  40,000  livres  on  Margaret. 
Rene  had  put  forward  a  plea  that  the  Duke  should 
forego  80,000  ecus  d'or,  which  was  due  on  loans,  and 
Philippe  agreed,  receiving  as  further  security  and 
indemnity  to  the  towns  of  Neufchateau,  Preny,  and 
Longwy, — already  in  pawn  to  him, — the  Castles  of 
Clermont,  Varennes,  and  Renne,  all  in  Argone.  A 
secret  clause  was,  however,  at  the  eleventh  hour 
foisted  upon  the  Angevine  Sovereigns  —  a  pro- 
ceeding quite  in  accordance  with  the  proverbial 
cunning  of  the  Court  of  Burgundy.  It  stipulated 
that  the  children  of  Charles  and  Margaret  should 
be  heirs  -  presumptive  of  Sicilv  -  Anjou  -  Provence, 


260    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Lorraine,  and  Bar,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  issue  of 
Ferri  and  Yolande  de  Vauddmont. 

The  judicial  mind  of  King  Rene  would  not  let  his 
consent  to  this  article  be  recorded  until  he  had  con- 
sulted both  the  Count  de  Vaudemont  and  King 
Charles  of  France.  The  former  indignantly  inter- 
viewed the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  stated  his  deter- 
mination to  oppose  the  proposed  marriage.  Charles 
resented  the  stipulation  upon  the  ground  of  its 
injustice,  and  warned  his  brother-in-law  not  to  agree 
to  any  such  proposals.  The  marriage  contract  was 
not  signed,  and,  whilst  acrimonious  negotiations  were 
carried  on  both  at  Dijon  and  Vienne,  another  and  a 
very  much  more  illustrious  suitor  of  the  hand  of 
Princess  Margaret  appeared  upon  the  scene,  no  less  a 
person  than  Henry  VI.,  King  of  England  and  France. 

When  the  matter  was  first  mooted,  it  was  thought 
nothing  of  by  the  King  and  Queen  of  Sicily,  because 
Henry  had  been  all  but  betrothed  to  Isabelle,  the 
daughter  of  the  Count  of  Armagnac,  to  whom  he 
owed  so  very  much  in  earlier  days.  Indeed,  the 
gossip  went  so  far  as  to  link  the  English  King's  name 
in  turn  with  all  three  daughters  of  the  Count — the 
loveliest  girls  in  France  :  "  Three  Graces  of  Armag- 
nac "  they  were  called.  Henry  had  sent  his  favourite 
painter,  Hans  of  Antwerp,  to  paint  the  three  comely 
sisters,  and  his  handiwork  was  so  acceptable  to  the 
royal  young  bachelor  that  he  sat  and  gazed  at  them 
for  long,  changing  the  order  of  their  arrangement  to 
see  which  face  of  the  beauteous  three  made  the 
most  passionate  appeal.  The  Armagnac  marriage  was 
backed  by  all  the  influence  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
the  younger  of  the  King's  uncles,  and  lately  Lord 
Protector  of  England. 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  261 

What  drew  Margaret  of  Anjou  into  the  orbit  of 
Henry  of  England  was  that  she  had  gone  on  a  visit 
to  her  aunt,  Queen  Marie  of  France,  and  had  at  the 
French  Court  created  quite  a  sensation.  She  was 
nearly  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  gave  fascinating 
indications  of  those  charms  of  mind  and  person  which 
made  her  "  the  most  lovely,  the  best-educated,  and 
the  most  fearless  Princess  in  Christendom." 

Cardinal  Beaufort  was  also  a  visitor  at  King 
Charles's  castle  at  Chinon,  and  was  immensely  moved 
by  Margaret's  appearance  and  accomplishments.  He 
also  detected  her  latent  strength  of  character,  and 
certain  traits  therein  which  marked  her  unerringly  as 
the  counterfoil  of  his  royal  pupil  and  master's  mental 
and  moral  weaknesses.  The  Cardinal  returned  to 
England  full  of  the  charms  of  the  young  Princess, 
and  descanted  upon  them  so  enthusiastically  to  the 
King  that  Henry  was  in  a  perfect  fever  to  behold  the 
beauteous  Princess  for  himself.  His  amorous  appe- 
tite was  further  stimulated  by  conversations  he  quite 
accidentally  had  with  one  Jules  Champchevier,  a 
prisoner  of  war  on  parole  from  Anjou,  lodging  with 
Sir  John  Falstaff,  in  attendance  upon  the  King. 
Champchevier  was  sent  off  to  Saumur  to  obtain,  if 
possible,  a  portrait  of  the  bewitching  young  Princess. 
The  King  wished  her  to  be  painted  quite  simply  and 
naturally  "in  a  plain  kirtle,  her  face  unpainted,  and 
her  hair  in  coils."  He  required  information  about 
"  her  height,  her  form,  the  colour  of  her  skin,  her 
hair,  her  eyes,  and  what  size  of  hand  she  hath." 

Champchevier  was  taken  prisoner  on  landing  in 
France,  and  threatened  with  death  for  breaking  his 
parole  whilst  executing  the  royal  commission  ;  but 
news  reaching  Charles  VII.  of  the'unfortunate  fellow's 


REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

predicament,  he  laughed  heartily  at  the  situation 
when  he  learned  the  reason  of  his  mission,  and  forth- 
with ordered  his  release.  The  idea  of  a  matrimonial 
contract  between  his  royal  rival  and  his  royal  niece 
opened  His  Majesty's  eyes  to  possibilities  created 
thereby  of  a  satisfactory  peace  between  the  two 
countries.  Once  more, — and  how  many  times  before 
and  since  ! — a  royal  maiden's  heart  contained  the  key 
to  great  political  issues. 

The  portrait  was  painted  exactly  to  order — perhaps, 
and  quite  correctly,  with  a  little  artistic  embellish- 
ment. The  beauty  of  Nature  is  always  enhanced  by 
the  decorative  features  of  art.  Henry  was  charmed 
with  the  sweet  face  he  gazed  and  gazed  upon,  quite 
putting  into  the  shade  the  other  reigning  beauties  of 
his  heart.  He  was  himself  as  comely  as  might  be, 
just  four-and-twenty,  highly  educated,  his  mind  un- 
usually refined.  In  thought  and  deed  he  was  pure 
and  devout,  and  very  shy  of  strange  women.  Upon 
the  latter  head  he  was  emphatic,  for  when  at  Court 
or  elsewhere  he  beheld  women  with  open  bosoms 
d  VIsabeau  de  Baviere  he  was  shocked,  and  turned 
away  his  face,  muttering  :  "  Oh  fie  !  oh  fie  !  ye  be 
much  to  blame  !"  His  earnest  wish  was  marriage, 
not  concubinage.  The  King's  choice  very  soon 
became  noised  abroad,  and  the  Court  became  agitated 
and  divided.  The  Duke  of  Gloucester,  the  King's 
next  of  kin  and  heir-presumptive  to  the  throne, 
championed  the  Armagnac  match,  whilst  Cardinal 
Beaufort  and  the  Earl  of  Suffolk  decided  for  Margaret 
of  Anjou. 

There  was,  however,  an  obstacle  in  the  way,  quite 
consistently  with  the  proverbial  rugged  course  of  all 
true  love  ;  the  Count  of  Nevers  refused  to  release 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  263 

his  fiancee.  He  was  prepared,  he  averred,  to  cancel 
the  contentious  clause  in  the  marriage  contract,  made 
at  Tarascon,  and  not  to  insist  upon  anything  deroga- 
tory to  the  dignity  of  King  Rene  and  his  elder 
daughter,  the  Countess  Ferri  de  Vaude'mont.  The 
prospect  to  Rene  of  such  an  auspicious  union,  how- 
ever, which  would  place  his  daughter  upon  one  of  the 
greatest  of  European  thrones,  was  too  dazzling  to  be 
ignored,  and  the  outcome  of  the  imbroglio  was  the 
assembling  in  January,  1444,  of  a  mixed  Commission, 
representing  England,  France,  Anjou,  and  Bur- 
gundy, at  Tours,  whereat  two  protocols  were  framed  : 
a  treaty  for  a  two  years'  peace,  and  a  marriage  agree- 
ment between  the  King  of  England  and  the  Princess 
of  Anjou.  This  was  signed  on  May  28  of  the  same 
year.  The  marriage  contract  thus  drawn  out  was 
very  favourable  to  the  House  of  Sicily- Anjou  :  Henry 
asked  for  no  dowry,  but  required  only  the  rights 
transmitted  to  King  Rene  by  Queen  Yolande  with 
respect  to  the  kingdom  of  Minorca.  Henry  further 
agreed  to  the  retrocession  of  Le  Mans  and  other  points 
in  Anjou  held  by  the  English. 

To  the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  the  leading  English  pleni- 
potentiary, was  mainly  due  the  successful  issue  of  the 
conference.  Henry  created  him  Marquis  and  Grand 
Seneschal  of  the  Royal  Household.  The  King  further- 
more despatched  to  him  an  autograph  letter  to  the 
following  effect  :  "  As  you  have  lately,  by  the  Divine 
favour  and  grace,  in  our  name,  and  for  us,  engaged 
verbally  the  excellent,  magnificent,  and  very  bright 
Margaret,  the  second  daughter  of  the  King  of  Sicily, 
and  sworn  that  we  shall  contract  marriage  with  her, 
we  consent  thereto,  and  will  that  she  be  conveyed  to 
us  over  the  seas  at  our  expense."  Arrangements  were 


264     REN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

forthwith  made  for  the  immediate  marriage  of  the 
Princess.  Suffolk, — one  of  the  handsomest  and  most 
cultivated  men  of  the  day,  though  now  verging  on 
fifty  years  of  age, — headed  a  majestic  embassy  to 
Nancy,  where  the  Sicily -Anjou  Court  was  in  resi- 
dence. He  bore  with  him  a  dispensation  from  his 
royal  master  to  act  as  his  proxy  at  the  nuptial  cere- 
mony, and  to  receive  in  his  name  the  hand  of  his 
fascinating  bride.  It  was  indeed  a  notable  function, 
and  held  in  the  ancient  cathedral  of  Tours,  whereat 
all  that  was  royal,  noble,  brave,  and  beautiful,  for- 
gathered. The  witnesses  for  Margaret  were  the 
King  and  Queen  of  France,  the  King  and  Queen  of 
Sicily-Anjou,  and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Calabria, 
with  the  Dauphin  Louis.  The  Princess's  supporters 
were  the  Duke  of  Alen£on,  the  most  gallant  and  most 
accomplished  Prince  in  France,  and  the  Marquis  of 
Suffolk,  the  premier  noble  of  England.  Upon  the 
latter's  consort,  the  clever  Marchioness,  devolved  the 
duties  of  Mistress  of  the  Robes. 

That  day, — February  27,  1445, — was  a  red-letter 
day  in  the  annals  of  all  three  kingdoms.  Louis 
d'Harcourt,  Bishop  of  Toul,  was  chief  celebrant, 
assisted  by  half  the  prelates  of  France,  and  Cardinal 
Beaufort  was  in  choir  to  administer  the  Papal 
benediction.  The  young  Queen's  Maids  of  Honour 
were  the  two  most  lovely  girls  in  France — Jehanne 
de  Laval,  in  the  suite  of  Queen  Marie,  and  Agnes 
Sorel,  in  that  of  Queen  Isabelle.  It  was  a  singular 
and  delightful  coincidence  that  these  two  lovely 
damsels  were  in  evidence  on  that  auspicious 
day  ;  for  were  they  not  the  charming  cynosures  re- 
spectively of  two  pairs  of  kingly  eyes — Rene  and 
Charles  ! 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOTT  265 

The  interest  and  the  importance  of  the  celebration 
was  heightened  considerably  by  the  fact  that  there 
was  a  double  wedding :  Count  Ferri  de  Vaude"mont 
and  Princess  Yolande  of  Sicily- Anjou  were  united  in 
the  bonds  of  matrimony  immediately  after  the  nuptials 
of  the  new  Queen.  Fetes  and  festivities  were  carried 
out  right  royally  for  eight  whole  days  and  nights. 
The  "  Lists "  were  held  in  the  great  wide  Place  de 
Carriere  in  Nancy.  Charles  and  Rene"  met  in 
amicable  conflict,  but  it  was  the  former's  lance  which 
was  tossed  up,  and  Rene  gained  the  guerdon,  which 
he  presented  gallantly  enough  to  his  sister,  the  Queen 
of  France.  The  champion  of  champions,  however, 
was  none  other  than  Pierre  de  Luxembourg,  the 
earliest  fiancee  of  Queen  Margaret,  and  he  had  the 
happy  satisfaction  of  receiving  the  victor's  crest  of 
honour  from  her  hands — now  another's  !  Minstrelsy 
and  the  stage  also  lent  their  aid  to  the  general 
rejoicings.  King  Rene*  was  already  styled  the 
"  Royal  Troubadour,"  and  he  rallied  his  melodious, 
merry  men  in  a  goodly  phalanx,  whilst  he  himself 
led  the  music  in  person  and  recited  his  own  new 
marriage  poem.  The  theatre  proper  had  only  very 
recently  been  established  in  France.  Church 
mysteries  and  pageant  plays  had  had  their  vogue, 
when,  in  1402,  Charles  VI.  granted  his  charter  to 
"  La  Confr&rerie  de  la  Passion," — a  company,  or 
guild,  of  masons,  carpenters,  saddlers,  and  other 
craftsmen,  and  women, — which  he  established  at  the 
village  of  St.  Maur,  near  Vincennes.  These  merry 
fellows  introduced  to  their  distinguished  audience,  in 
the  Castle  of  Nancy,  secular  travesties  of  the  well- 
worn  religious  spectacles,  and  won  the  heartiest 
applause.  King  Rene  personally,  through  the 


266    KEN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

gracious    hands    of   the    royal    bride,   decorated    the 
actors  with  gay  ribbons  and  medallions. 

The  dress  of  the  right  royal  company  was,  as  may 
well  be  supposed,  sumptuous  in  the  extreme ;  but 
among  the  wearers  of  rich  attire  a  pathetic  note  was 
struck,  when  it  was  mooted  that  royal  Margaret 
had  been  dressed  for  her  bridal  by  Queen  Marie,  her 
aunt,  because  her  own  parents  were  too  much  im- 
poverished to  supply  suitable  marriage  robes !  The 
bride's  dress  was  mainly  that  worn  by  Queen  Marie 
herself,  twenty-three  years  before,  at  her  own  nuptials 
with  Charles  VII.  The  kirtle  was  of  cloth  of  gold 
cunningly  embroidered  with  the  white  lilies  of  France 
— the  same  for  Anjou  ;  the  robe  of  state  was  of 
crimson  velvet  bordered  with  ermine,  which  also 
formed  the  trimming  of  the  stomacher  she  wore. 
Her  hair  was  dressed  a  I'Angloise,  its  rich  golden 
coils  being  crowned  with  a  royal  diadem,  almost  the 
only  jewel  of  Queen  Yolande's  treasury  which  had 
not  been  sold  or  pawned.  The  little  Queen  was 
slight  of  build  and  short  of  stature  for  her  age  ;  very 
fair  of  skin,  with  a  peachy  blush  ;  her  eyes  light 
blue,  her  hair  a  golden  auburn  ;  her  whole  face  and 
figure  lent  themselves  to  delightful  expression  and 
graceful  pose.  Above  all,  she  was  very  self-possessed, 
and  gave  all  beholders  the  impression  of  abilityand 
decision  beyond  the  average. 

With  respect  to  King  Rene's  inability  to  provide 
a  fitting  trousseau  for  his  daughter,  there  is  an  entry 
in  the  Comptes  de  Roy  Rene  which  indicates  that 
he  was  not  unmindful  of  the  sartorial  requirements  of 
his  family.  Under  date  September  11,  1442,  is  an 
order,  addressed  to  Guillaume  de  la  Planche,  mer- 
chant of  Angers,  for  1 1  aulnes  of  cloth  of  gold,  em- 


MARGUERITE  D\ANJOU  267 

broidered  in  crimson  and  pleated,  at  3  0  ecus  per  aulne, 
with  a  suite  of  trimming  to  cost  30  livres.  At 
the  same  time  Fra^ois  Castargis,  furrier  of  Angers, 
is  directed  to  supply  ten  dozen  finest  marten  skins  at 
a  cost  of  £15  7s.  6d.,  and  to  pack  and  despatch 
them  to  the  care  of  the  Seigneur  de  Precigny 
at  Saumur,  "  for  dresses  for  Madame  Margaret." 
This  de  Precigny  was  Bertrand  de  Beauvau, 
who  married  King  Rene's  natural  daughter  Blanche 
d'Anjou. 

At  the  wedding  of  Henry  VI.  and  Margaret  at 
Tours  and  Nancy,  the  courtiers  were  very  richly  attired 
in  short  jackets  or  tunics  of  pleated  brocade  trimmed 
with  silk  fringes ;  their  body  hose  was  of  parti- 
coloured spun  silk  to  match  their  tunics.  Their  shoes 
were  made  long,  of  white  kid  with  high  heels,  and 
were  laced  with  golden  thread.  Calves  where  skimpy 
were  padded,  and  narrow  shoulders  were  puffed  out. 
They  wore  long  pendent  sleeves,  pricked  and  furred. 
Their  hair,  generally  worn  a  la  Nazarene,  hung  in 
thick  straight  locks  upon  their  shoulders,  cut  square 
over  the  forehead.  A  small  berretta,  with  a  heron's 
plume  and  a  jewelled  brooch,  completed  the  costume. 
Chains  of  gold  and  jewels  were  worn  at  will.  The 
ladies  of  the  Court  wore  short  kirtles  or  petticoats, 
with  long  bunched-up  trains  of  silk  brocade  in  two 
contrasting  colours ;  cloth  of  gold  was  reserved  for 
dames  of  royal  degree.  Strict  rules  were  observed 
in  the  wearing  of  fur — its  quality  and  its  breadth  ; 
ermine  was  reserved  for  royalty.  Their  gloves  were 
long-fingered,  and  their  shoes  long-toed,  the  points 
of  each  being  caught  up  with  thin  golden  chains  to 
their  garters — "  un  chose  ridicule  et  absude"  as 
Paradin  wrote.  The  salient  mark  adopted  by  the 


268    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

ladies  of  fashion  was  noted  in  their  coiffures.  The 
popular  name,  or,  rather,  the  name  of  scorn, — thanks 
to  Father  Thomas  of  Brittany, — for  the  astounding 
headgear  a  la  mode,  "  hennin"  was  in  select  circles 
called  en  papillons — "  butterflied."  Some  ladies  had 
double  horns  like  the  mitres  of  Bishops,  some  had 
round  redoubts  "  comme  les  donjons,"  some  were  half- 
rnoon  shape,  and  some  like  hearts,  whilst  many  goodly 
dames  made  themselves  still  more  ridiculous  by  wear- 
ing miniature  windmills !  All  these  erections  were 
made  of  white  stiffened  linen,  built  up  on  frameworks 
of  wicker  and  carton.  Over  all  floquarts, — thin  gauze 
veils, — were  gently  cast.  Collars  of  jewels  and  ropes 
of  pearls  were  de  rigueur,  and  most  of  the  ladies 
wore  badges  of  chivalry — the  guerdons  of  their  lords 
and  sweethearts.  One  very  pretty  conceit  was  intro- 
duced at  the  time  of  Queen  Margaret's  marriage — 
a  dainty  holder  for  the  necessary  pocket-handkerchief. 
This  took  the  shape  of  a  small  heart  of  gold  suspended 
from  an  enamelled  white  marguerite,  and  hung 
at  the  side  of  the  jewelled  cincture.  The  ladies' 
shoes  were  richly  embroidered  with  seed-pearls 
and  gold  thread.  Rings  were  worn  outside  the 
gloves. 

Among  the  suite  sent  by  Henry  to  attend  upon 
his  bride  were  the  Countess  of  Shrewsbury  and 
the  Lady  Emma  de  Scales,  with  five  Barons  and 
Baronesses  of  the  realm.  In  attendance,  too,  was 
Scrivener  William  Andrews,  Private  Secretary  to  the 
King,  who  acted  as  juris-consult  at  the  signing  of 
the  marriage  registers.  In  his  diary  he  wrote : 
"  Never  have  I  seen  or  heard  of  a  young  Princess 
so  greatly  loved  and  admired." 

Upon  the  ninth  day  after  the  marriage  ceremony 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  269 

Queen  Margaret  took  a  tearful  but  brave  farewell 
of  her  fond  parents  and  of  the  princely  company,  and 
King  Rene*  committed  her  proudly,  yet  regretfully, 
to  the  care  of  the  Marquis  of  Suffolk.  An  imposing 
cavalcade  accompanied  the  parting  Queen ;  indeed, 
all  Nancy,  noble  and  bourgeois,  rich  and  poor,  turned 
out  to  do  honour  to  Her  Majesty.  King  Charles 
and  Queen  Marie  went  as  far  as  Toul,  and  then  bade 
their  niece  adieu.  Charles  was  strangely  sad,  and 
said  with  a  deep-drawn  sigh  :  "I  seem  to  have  done 
nothing  for  you,  my  well-beloved  niece,  in  placing 
you  upon  one  of  the  greatest  thrones  in  Europe,  but 
it  certainly  is  worthy  of  possessing  you  as  Queen." 
Queen  Marie's  farewell  was  very  affecting  :  "  I  bid 
you  God-speed,  my  best-loved  niece.  I  am  sure  I 
do  not  know  what  we  shall  do  without  you.  I  weep 
for  you,  my  child  !" 

King  Rene  and  Queen  Isabelle  travelled  with  their 
dear  daughter  right  on  to  Bar-le-Duc,  where  the 
cortege  was  enthusiastically  received,  and  where  a 
rest  was  called  over  the  Sunday,  and  parents  and 
daughter  partook  of  the  Communion.  Then,  on  the 
morrow,  Margaret  broke  down  completely  at  the 
parting,  and  both  Rene  and  Isabelle  gave  way  to 
sobs  and  tears.  If  the  prospect  of  the  royal  marriage 
had  been  pleasant  to  them  all,  its  realization  and  the 
future  filled  their  hearts  with  apprehension.  A 
dearly  loved  child  was  now  to  make  her  way  all 
alone  among  strangers — too  young  to  go  so  far  from 
home,  but  too  good  to  err. 

"  Je  fais  peur  pour  vou$,  ma  fille"  cried  the 
sorrowing  father,  "  en  yous  plaqant  sur  un  des  plus 
grands  trdnes  de  Chretiente ;  que  le  bon  Dieu  vous 
gardiez.  Pour  moi  et  pour  votre  mere,  nous  sommes 


270    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

tons  les  deux  desoles"*  Queen  Isabelle's  heart  was 
too  full  for  words.  She  folded  her  child  to  her 
bosom,  and  the  two  wept  together.  It  was  Margaret 
who  first  dried  her  tears,  and  said  bravely  :  "  N'ayez 
aucun  regret  pour  moi;  je  serai  votre  file,  la  plus 
devoue'e  pour  jamais.  Si  mon  corps  vequt  en  Angle- 
terre,  mon  dme  restera  trousjours  en  France  avec 
la  vdtre"^ 

Bare-headed,  King  Rene  stood  at  the  castle  portal 
till  Margaret  and  her  escort  had  faded  from  his  sight ; 
then  he  and  the  Queen  shut  themselves  up  in  their 
apartments  and  gave  way  to  their  pent-up  feelings. 
Travelling  as  the  Queen  of  England,  Margaret  had 
now  for  her  supporters  her  brother,  the  Duke  of 
Calabria,  the  Duke  of  Aleiiqon,  and  the  courteous 
Marquis  of  Suffolk.  Leisurely  enough  the  company 
traversed  the  fertile  fields  of  Champagne,  ever  aiming 
for  the  north  French  coast.  Besides  a  strong  escort 
of  soldiery,  in  the  royal  train  were  seventeen  knights 
and  two  esquire-carvers,  sixty-five  esquires,  twenty 
grooms,  and  174  servitors  of  all  kinds,  and  with 
them  serving-maids  and  dressers.  At  every  stopping- 
place  heartiest  greetings  awaited  the  young  Queen, 
and  Princes  and  nobles  knelt  to  pay  their  homage. 
The  English  garrisons  en  route  were  forward  in  their 
loyal  salutations  ;  their  new  Queen  was  the  pledge 
of  a  greatly-yearned-for  entente  cordiale. 

At  Nantes  the  Duke  of  York,  King  Henry's  near 

*  "  I  am  fearful  for  you,  my  daughter,  in  placing  you  upon  one 
of  the  mightiest  thrones  in  Christendom ;  may  the  good  God 
protect  you.  As  for  me  and  your  mother,  we  are  filled  with  desola- 
tion." 

t  "  Do  not  feel  any  regret  for  me ;  I  shall  be  always  your  most 
devoted  daughter.  If  my  body  dwells  in  England,  my  soul  shall 
rest  always  in  France  with  yours." 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  271 

kinsman,  and  the  representative  of  the  older  line  of 
the  English  Royal  House,  received  the  Queen,  and 
entertained  her  in  the  castle  of  the  French  Kings. 
On  March  23  the  royal  progress  ended  at  Rouen, 
where  a  week's  rest  was  called.  Bicknoke,  in  his 
"  Computus"  has  enumerated  several  curious  items 
in  the  bill  of  costs  which  covered  the  lengthy  journey 
from  Lorraine.  The  Barons  and  Baronesses  of  the 
Queen's  suite  received  each  four  shillings  and  six- 
pence a  day,  the  knights  had  half  a  crown  each  a 
day,  and,  at  the  tail  of  the  following,  the  grooms 
were  paid  no  more  than  fourpence  per  diem.  At 
Rouen  the  Queen  paid  four  shillings  and  ninepence 
for  fourteen  pairs  of  shoes  to  give  to  certain  poor 
women  of  the  town.  She  also  made  many  purchases 
of  second-hand  silver  plate  from  a  silversmith, 
Jean  Tubande  by  name.  The  articles  were  chiefly 
cups  and  plates  which  bore  the  arms  of  Henry, 
Count  of  Luxembourg,  father  of  her  first  fiance. 
These  escutcheons  the  Queen  had  removed,  and  in 
place  of  them  marguerites  were  engraved.  The 
Queen,  moreover,  came  short  of  ready  cash,  so  she 
pawned  some  of  her  real  silver  wedding  presents  to 
the  Marchioness  of  Suffolk,  that  she  might  have  the 
wherewithal  for  gifts  to  the  seamen  on  her  transport 
to  England. 

The  royal  party  embarked  in  river  boats,  and  made 
for  Honfleur,  where  the  Cokke  John,  a  great  galley, 
was  waiting  off  the  port.  Such  a  stormy  passage 
as  that  which  was  the  prelude  to  Queen  Margaret's 
triumphant  progress  to  the  English  capital  had 
hardly  been  exceeded  for  fury  in  the  memory  of  the 
most  ancient  mariners.  Thunder  and  lightning  and 
sheets  of  ice-cold  water  threatened  to  destroy  the 

18 


272     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

stately  craft  and  to  engulf  her  lordly  fares.  After 
beating  about  in  the  Channel  for  one  whole  day 
and  night,  with  utmost  difficulty  the  harbour  of 
Porchester  was  attained  on  April  10. 

It  was  rather  hard  upon  the  Queen's  impoverished 
exchequer  that  she  should  have  been  called  upon  to 
pay  £5  4s.  lOd.  for  her  pilot,  £13  6s.  8d.  for  new 
hawsers,  and  £9  7s.  for  alterations  and  repairs  in 
the  vessel. 

The  terrified  young  Queen  had  never  beheld  the 
angry  sea  before  nor  tasted  its  misery,  and  she  was 
utterly  prostrated  in  her  state-room,  and  wept  and 
cried  for  her  mother  and  to  God  for  help.  The 
Marquis  raised  her  inanimate  form  gently  in  his  arms, 
and  wading  bravely  to  land  through  the  scudding 
sea-foam,  he  bore  his  precious  burden,  march- 
ing manfully  along  the  fresh-rush-strewn  streets  of 
the  little  fishing  town.  King  Henry  was  at  Winches- 
ter, anxiously  awaiting  couriers  who  should  gladden 
his  ears  by  the  news  of  his  royal  bride's  arrival,  and 
he  galloped  off  at  once  to  greet  her  at  the  Goddes 
House  of  Southwick,  whither  she  was  borne  for 
rest  and  treatment.  Unhappily,  Margaret  had  con- 
tracted some  infectious  complaint, — perhaps  chicken- 
pox, — and,  very  tantalizing  for  herself  and  Henry, 
their  meeting  was  postponed  until  her  illness  had 
abated. 

At  the  priory  church  of  St.  Mary  and  All  Saints 
the  ceremony  of  the  English  espousal  was  celebrated 
by  Cardinal  Kemp,  and  Henry  placed  upon  Mar- 
garet's finger  the  ring  which  he  had  worn  at  his 
coronation  in  Paris  eighteen  years  before.  If  the 
King  was  charmed  by  the  portrait  of  his  Queen,  he 
was  transported  with  joy  and  passion  when  he  beheld 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  273 

and  embraced  beauteous  Margaret.  The  half  of  her 
excellence  had  not  been  revealed  in  pigment ;  she 
was  more,  much  more,  lovely  and  attractive  than  he 
had  imagined.  Preparations  for  the  state  nuptials 
were  hurried  forward,  and  also  for  the  coronation  of 
the  Queen,  and  Henry  with  his  bride  rowed  on  to 
Southampton,  saluted  as  they  passed  'by  all  the 
shipping  in  the  Solent.  Two  Genoese  galleys  in 
particular  were  gaily  festooned  and  manned,  and  as 
the  royal  barge  swept  by  seven  trumpeters  blew  a 
wedding  fanfare,  and  then  the  crews  shouted  their 
loud  "Evviva."  Margaret  insisted  on  sending  for  the 
two  captains  of  the  foreign  crafts,  and  gave  them 
£1  3s.  4d.  "  for  plaieing  so  merrielie  my  musique  " 
— so  the  Queen  phrased  it.  Another  heavy  item  in 
the  cost  of  her  progress  was  her  doctor's  fee  ;  Maistre 
Franqois  of  Nancy  claimed  £5  9s.  2d.  for  his  pro- 
fessional services  upon  the  journey.  A  further  delay 
was  caused  in  the  completion  of  the  nuptial  arrange- 
ments by  reason  of  the  poverty  of  the  Queen's  ward 
robe.  Her  trousseau  was  quite  unworthy  of  her 
rank,  and  Henry,  although  himself  as  poor  as  a 
King  might  be,  despatched  messengers  to  London 
to  summon  Margaret  Chamberlayne,  a  famous  tire- 
worker,  and  a  number  of  craftswomen  with  sumptuous 
materials  for  the  wedding  gown.  The  King,  indeed, 
had  to  pawn  his  own  jewellery  and  plate  to  furnish 
sufficient  funds  for  the  double  ceremony. 

Henry  of  England  and  Margaret  of  Anjou  were 
married  by  Cardinal  Beaufort  in  the  abbey  church 
of  Titchfield  on  April  22.  The  bride  was  just 
sixteen  years  of  age — already  a  woman,  but  with  the 
heart  of  a  man.  Most  extraordinary  presents  were 
showered  upon  the  young  Queen  :  a  lion  in  a  cage, 


274    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

a  score  of  hedgehogs,  a  dozen  thick  all-wool  blankets, 
two  tuns  of  English  wine,  a  suit  of  bronze  silver 
armour,  several  chairs, — two  of  state, — five  young 
lambs'  fleeces,  and  so  forth.  Then  the  royal  progress 
began  to  the  capital.  Halfway  between  Fareham 
and  London  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  with  500  armed 
and  superbly  mounted  retainers,  greeted  the  King 
and  Queen,  and  conducted  them  to  the  palace  at 
Greenwich.  Triumphal  arches  spanned  the  road, 
and  maidens  scattered  spring  blossoms  before  the 
royal  couple. 

On  May  30  the  King  and  Queen  quitted  Black- 
heath  for  Westminster,  passing  many  notable  pageant 
spectacles — "  Noah's  Ark,"  "  Grace,"  "  God's  Chan- 
cellor," "  St.  Margaret,"  the  "  Heavenly  Jerusalem," 
and  so  forth — all  marshalled  in  their  honour.  Some- 
what wearied  by  the  dust  and  the  shaking  of  her 
chariot,  and  deafened  by  the  plaudits  of  the  crowds, 
Margaret  was  handed  down  by  the  King,  at  the 
great  west  door  of  the  royal  abbey.  Her  entry  was 
accompanied  by  minstrelsy,  for  King  Rene  had 
sent  over  for  the  ceremonial  a  large  company  of  the 
troubadours  and  glee  maidens  of  Bar,  Lorraine,  and 
Provence,  under  the  orders  of  his  Groom  of  the 
Stole,  Sire  Jehan  d'Escose.  The  cost  of  this  expe- 
dition ran  up  to  nearly  £100,  a  great  sum  for  the 
poor  King  of  Sicily  to  disburse. 

King  Henry  spared  no  expense,  but  ran  still  more 
heavily  into  debt  to  make  the  crowning  of  his  Queen 
magnificent.  Rarely  had  such  a  gallant  and  splendid 
company  gathered  for  a  royal  wedding.  Everybody 
wore  the  Queen's  badge — a  red-tipped  daisy.  Three 
days  were  set  apart  for  tournaments  between  Palace 
Yard  and  Broad  Sanctuary,  whereat  the  new  Queen 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  275 

presided,  wearing  the  Queen-consort's  jewelled  crown 
of  England. 

Margaret  was  now  de  facto  and  de  jure  Queen  of 
England  and  mistress  of  her  destiny — her  husband's, 
also.  What  a  unique  elevation  it  was  for  a  young 
girl  of  sixteen,  all  alone  among  strangers,  rivals,  and 
adventurers  1  A  false  step  seemed  inevitable  ;  indeed, 
absolute  rectitude  and  tactfulness  of  conduct  under 
the  exigeant  circumstances  which  surrounded  her 
would  have  tried  the  grit  of  the  stoutest  mind  and 
the  grasp  of  the  strongest  hand.  Dubbed  "  La 
Franqaise"  by  men  and  women  jealous  of  the  King 
and  of  herself,  she  had  to  steer  her  course  amid 
endless  pitfalls  placed  in  her  way.  Warfare  and 
politics  were  the  two  chief  contentions  of  the  day. 
As  for  the  first,  she  (Margaret)  was  its  mascot,  and 
warriors  laid  down  their  arms  at  her  feet ;  but  with 
respect  to  the  wordy  warfare  of  parties  and  their 
intrigues  and  plots  the  young  Queen  danced  upon 
the  thinnest  ice,  and  unconsciously  she  slipped. 
She  gave  herself  into  the  hands,  quite  naturally,  of 
the  party  which  held  first  to  the  King  and  herself, 
as  opposed  to  that  which  sought  initially  self-interest. 
The  Duke  of  Gloucester  was  the  leader  of  the  loyal 
section  of  her  lieges,  and  to  him  the  young  Queen 
turned  for  light  and  leading. 

Very  soon  the  impress  of  Margaret's  strong 
character  made  itself  felt  in  every  quarter.  She 
spared  neither  the  Duke  of  York  himself,  nor  any 
other  rival  to  her  own  Lord  and  King  ;  but  what 
could  a  child  still  in  her  teens  do  against  the  cabals 
of  crafty  and  influential  foes  ?  Henry  was  as  weak 
as  water  ;  he  hated  political  questions,  caring  very 
much  more,  of  course,  for  peaceful  intercourse  with 


276     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

his  fascinating  spouse,  and  for  the  delights  of  leisure 
and  learning,  than  for  the  turmoil  of  Parliament  and 
the  vexed  questions  of  the  day.  York  held  Henry 
in  his  hand,  but  Margaret  was  a  doughty  nut  to 
crack,  and  she  kept  him  in  his  proper  place. 

Letters  written  from  Sheen  and  Windsor  to 
Queen  Isabelle  by  her  loving  daughter  show  how 
happy  was  her  state.  Henry's  passionate  love  she 
returned  as  passionately,  and  their  loves  made  for 
peace  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Literary  pursuits 
and  benevolent  aims  were  in  both  their  minds  :  the 
King  founded  Eton  College,  and  King's  College, 
Cambridge,  in  1446  ;  the  Queen,  Queen's  College, 
Cambridge.  Together  they  invited  Italian,  French, 
and  Flemish  craftsmen  to  settle  in  England,  and  teach 
their  ignorant  but  not  unwilling  subjects  some  of  the 
arts  of  peace.  The  poor  were  relieved,  the  naked 
clothed,  the  hungry  fed  ;  but  when  all  estates  of  the 
realm  seemed  secure  and  in  prosperty,  the  dark  spectre 
of  sedition  rose  at  the  beck  and  call  of  the  Duke' 
of  York.  King  Henry  had  to  rouse  himself  and  lay 
low  the  insurrection  of  Jack  Cade  and  30,000 
mislead  Kentish  men.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
troubles. 

II. 

For  some  little  time  Margaret  had  detected  signs 
in  her  consort's  speech  and  manner  that  caused  her  the 
gravest  solicitude.  She  had  witnessed  the  mental  de- 
pression and  lassitude  of  her  uncle,  the  King  of  France, 
and  she  had  grieved  for  her  beloved  aunt's  (Queen 
Marie's)  anxieties.  The  insanity  of  King  Charles  VI., 
too,  had  been  one  of  the  sad  family  histories  of  her 
school  days  in  Anjou.  Now  she  was  faced  with  a 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  277 

trouble  far  away  more  terrible  than  any  of  these.  In 
1453  the  King's  memory  began  to  fail,  he  was  bereft 
of  feeling,  and  gradually  he  lost  his  power  of  walking. 
The  malady,  indeed,  had  shown  itself  during  the 
Christmas  revels  at  Greenwich.  The  Queen  was 
already  broken-hearted  by  the  news  she  received  from 
France  of  the  critical  state  of  her  mother's  health, 
and  when,  on  March  5,  she  heard  of  her  death,  poor 
Margaret  was  indeed  disconsolate.  In  pain  she 
turned  to  Henry  for  comfort,  but  he  failed  to  com- 
prehend her  sorrow.  All  around  were  men  and 
women  intriguing  against  herself  and  him  ;  alone  she 
had  to  bear  her  trouble,  and  the  trouble  was  intensified 
in  pathos  by  the  fact  that  she  was  at  last  enceinte. 
Would  her  child  be  stillborn,  she  asked  herself  many 
a  time  ;  how  could  she  expect  otherwise  when  so 
utterly  cast  down  ?  Then  she  realized  the  loneliness 
of  a  throne.  The  menace  of  the  Duke  of  York  was 
a  scourge  to  wear  her  down,  and  his  denunciation  of 
her  barrenness  an  unspeakable  affront. 

Crushed  indeed  she  was,  and  yet  she  had  to  play 
the  man  ;  for  she  was  both  King  and  Queen  of 
England,  and  while  she  lived  she  determined  that 
none  should  sap  her  authority.  Henry  subsided 
into  imbecility,  but  Margaret's  will  matched  and 
vanquished  York's,  although  he  was  proclaimed 
"  Protector  of  the  Realm  and  Church."  The  year 
sped  on,  but  it  brought  joy  to  the  sad  heart  of  the 
lonely  Queen,  and  the  whole  nation  shared  her 
happiness.  On  October  1 1  she  brought  forth  her 
first-born  child,  a  son  and  heir,  a  fact  of  the  vastest 
importance  for  all  concerned,  friend  and  foe.  York 
at  once  denounced  the  child  for  a  changeling  ;  but  the 
nation  would  not  have  it  so,  and  he  was  christened 


278    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Edward  publicly  at  Westminster,  and  created  Prince 
of  Wales,  so  named  because  his  birthday  was  that  of 
the  holy  King  St.  Edward. 

Alas  !  the  King  could  not  be  roused  sufficiently 
to  recognize  his  son,  nor,  indeed,  his  wife,  and  this 
was  construed  by  York  and  his  party  as  proof  con- 
clusive against  the  truth  of  the  Queen's  accouche- 
ment. At  the  same  time  they  threw  out  insinuations 
against  her  character  with  respect  to  relations  with 
many  prominent  men  of  her  entourage. 

The  chivalrous  spirit  of  the  Queen  felt  York's 
false  imputations  crushingly.  Her  convalescence  was 
retarded,  and  when  she  came  to  be  churched  at  the 
Abbey  of  Westminster,  she  was  almost  too  prostrate 
to  go  through  the  ceremony.  Like  the  noble  woman 
that  she  was,  she  roused  herself ;  and  when  she 
beheld  the  distinguished  and  numerous  suite  await- 
ing her, — the  forty  most  influential  peeresses  in  the 
land, — she  took  heart,  and  was  herself  once  more. 
She  assumed  her  costly  churching  robe.  It  was  of 
white,  gold-embroidered  silk  and  was  bordered  with 
500  sable  pelts,  and  it  had  cost  £554  16s.  8d. 

The  Duke's  despicable  conduct  was  flouted  when 
Christmas  next  came  round,  for  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Nativity  the  Queen  presented  herself  holding  her 
babe  in  her  arms  before  the  King.  To  her  unspeak- 
able joy,  Henry  held  out  his  hands  and  drew  her  and 
the  infant  Prince  to  his  breast,  and  out  loud  thanked 
God  for  the  recovery  of  his  reason  and  acknowledged 
the  child  as  his.  York  was  away  on  mischief  bent, 
and  Margaret  did  not  fail  to  make  use  of  the  oppor- 
tunity for  checkmating  his  unworthy  aspirations. 
She  took  the  King  to  the  Parliament,  then  sitting, 
and  at  his  command  and  in  his  presence  the  decree 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  279 

appointing  York  Protector  of  the  kingdom  was 
revoked,  and  Henry,  Margaret,  and  Edward,  assumed 
their  orthodox  positions.  This  step  was  the  first 
move  in  the  great  war  game  which  devastated  the 
whole  realm,  and  ended,  alas  !  in  the  absolute  undoing 
of  the  King,  the  Queen,  and  the  Prince.  York, 
hearing  what  had  transpired  at  Westminster,  hurried 
from  the  Welsh  border  with  5,000  armed  followers. 
The  King  met  him  at  St.  Albans,  and  ordered  him  to 
disband  his  troop  and  salute  the  royal  banner.  The 
Duke  refused  to  obey  only  on  impossible  conditions. 

But  what  of  King  Rene  and  Queen  Isabelle  ? 
Their  hearts  were  torn  asunder,  we  may  be  sure,  at 
the  contemplation  of  their  Margaret's  peril.  They 
were  powerless  to  assist  her  save  by  their  whole 
soul's  sympathy  ;  besides,  they  were  faced  by  a  con- 
trariety of  facts.  The  all  too  brief  "  truce  of  Mar- 
garet "  was  broken  in  1449,  and  Rene  was  summoned 
to  support  King  Charles  and  fight  against  the 
servants  of  her  consort, — her  subjects  too, — for, 
spite  of  being  "  La  JFrangaise"  she  had  won  all  hearts 
in  bonnie  England.  A  beautiful  girl  and  a  brave  is 
unmatchable  !  Fortune  of  war  favoured  the  French- 
Anjou  colours,  and  Charles  became  master  of  Nor- 
mandy and  all  English-held  North  France.  Guienne, 
too,  was  yielded  to  the  valiant  young  Duke  of 
Calabria.  Moreover,  the  war-galleys  of  "  Le  Petit  Roy 
de  Bourges  "  scoured  the  Channel,  and  gained  prizes 
and  renown  for  Charles  and  Rene"  off  the  English 
coast. 

Somerset's  defeat  was  a  loss  of  credit,  however,  to 
Queen  Margaret,  and  York  of  course  made  the  most 
of  it.  He  boasted  that,  "  as  Henry  was  fitter 
for  a  cell  than  a  throne,  and  had  transferred  his 


280    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

authority  to  Margaret,  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom 
could  not  be  managed  by  a  Frenchwoman,  who  cared 
only  for  her  own  power  and  profit."  To  placate  this 
arrogance  the  Queen  made  a  tactless  move  :  she 
named  the  Duke  Governor  of  Ireland,  thus  adding  to 
his  prestige  and  opportunity.  Talbot's  death  at 
Albany  further  weakened  the  King's  authority  and 
Margaret's  strategy. 

Upon  the  death  of  Queen  Isabelle,  so  deeply 
mourned,  not  alone  by  her  daughter  in  England,  but 
by  all  the  chivalry  of  France,  Rene  devolved  his 
authority  in  Bar  and  Lorraine  upon  Jean,  Duke  of 
Calabria,  intending  to  withdraw  gradually  from  the 
responsibilities  of  government.  His  efforts,  however, 
were  discounted  by  the  entreaties  of  Francesco 
Sforza,  Duke  of  Milan,  and  his  Florentine  allies,  that 
he  should  again  take  up  arms  and  appear  in  the  field 
against  King  Alfonso  of  Aragon  and  the  Venetians 
who  were  supporting  him.  Rene  was  victorious,  but 
the  palm  of  triumph  was  withered  in  his  hand  by  the 
news  that  reached  him  on  his  way  back  to  France  : 
civil  war  had  broken  out  in  England,  and  Margaret 
was  in  command  of  the  Lancastrians.  Margaret,  so 
lovely,  so  cultivated,  and  so  fearless,  was  adding 
lustre  to  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  House  of  Anjou — but 
what  terrible  risks  she  ran  !  The  initial  victory  at 
Wakefield  was  tarnished  by  the  irony  of  circum- 
stances, and,  though  decreed  by  her  in  the  moment  of 
her  emphatic  triumph,  York's  grey  head  speared  upon 
the  walls  of  York  must  have  shocked  her  sense  of 
magnanimity. 

Margaret  led  her  troops  in  person, — they  wor- 
shipped the  ground  she  trod, — but  her  splendid 
courage  was  of  no  avail  at  the  second  battle  of 


atter  faict 


KING   KENE    WRITING   HIS   POEM,    "  LE    MORTEFIEMENT   DE   VAINE    PLAISANCE  " 
From  the  Frontispiece  painted  by  King  Rene 


To  face  page  280 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  281 

St.  Albans.  Henry  was  deposed,  and  York's  eldest 
son,  the  Earl  of  March,  was  proclaimed  King  as 
Edward  IV.  Margaret  never  accepted  defeat ;  she 
quailed  not,  but  off  she  went  with  her  little  son,  who 
was  never  parted  from  her  side,  to  Yorkshire  and  the 
North. 

"  Love  Lady-Day  "  was  the  quaint  if  somewhat 
hypocritical  name  bestowed  by  general  consent  upon 
March  25,  1458.  On  that  auspicious  Lady-Day  a 
very  notable  assemblage  gathered  together  at  the 
Palace  of  Westminster.  The  Queen  had  personally 
summoned  the  leaders  of  the  rival  factions  to  meet 
the  King  and  accompany  him  and  herself  in  proces- 
sion to  St.  Paul's,  to  crave  from  on  high  the  spirit 
of  conciliation.  The  streets  were  crowded  with  loyal 
and  appreciative  citizens,  whose  delight  knew  no 
bounds  as  they  witnessed  pass  before  them  the  King 
in  his  crown,  his  horse's  bridle  held  by  a  "  White 
Rose"  knight  and  a  "Red."  Then  followed  the 
Queen  in  a  litter,  escorted  by  the  new  Duke  of  York, 
Somerset  hand  in  hand  with  Salisbury,  Essex  with 
Warwick,  and  others  in  order  of  precedence.  No 
man  was  armed,  no  woman  feared,  and  joy-bells  tossed 
themselves  over  and  over  again,  swung  by  stalwart 
ringers.  Te  Deum  was  sung,  but  as  the  progress 
turned  westward  rumblings  of  thunder  made  wise- 
acres shake  their  heads, — and  in  sooth  they  had  good 
cause,  as  matters  chanced, — at  the  dire  omen. 

Warwick  was  the  bSte  noire  of  the  reconciliation. 
By  instinct  and  preference  a  plotter-royal,  he  incurred 
the  Queen's  suspicion  by  a  system  of  sea-piracy  he 
established,  and  because  of  inconsiderate  language 
about  the  elder  line  of  Plantagenet.  An  unfortunate 
street  fracas  led  to  Warwick's  imprisonment.  He 


282    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

was  too  proud  to  plead  guilty,  the  Queen  too  jealous 
to  release  him.  York  and  Salisbury  at  once  enrolled 
their  retainers,  and  stood  ready  to  deliver  Warwick. 
The  fruits  of  the  reconciliation  fell  instantly  to  the 
ground,  and  the  complement  of  "  Love  Lady-Day  " 
was  renunciation  and  conflict  a  Voutrance.  Before 
the  fresh  outbreak  of  hostilities,  whilst  the  King 
retired  for  rest  and  quietude  to  St.  Albans  Abbey, 
the  Queen,  accompanied  by  the  baby  Prince,  made  a 
progress  through  the  Midlands.  The  child's  winning 
ways  touched  every  heart,  and  when  he  distributed 
to  struggling  hands  everywhere  the  cognizance  of  his 
patron  saint,  St.  Edward, — little  silver  swans, — 
everybody  swore  to  be  his  henchman  and  to  stand  by 
Henry  and  Margaret.  Salisbury  hung  upon  the 
skirts  of  the  Queen's  cortege,  and  Margaret  inquired 
his  business.  His  curt  reply  determined  her  to 
demand  his  body,  alive  or  dead.  At  Bloreheath 
adherents  of  both  sides  met,  and  then  Margaret  had 
her  baptism  of  blood  ;  her  own  was  tinged  with 
warriors'  strains  from  Charlemagne  of  old,  and  in  her 
veins  the  old  lion  sprang  up  phoenix-like.  Margaret 
saw  red.  She  offered  two  courses  only  to  her 
rebellious  and  disaffected  subjects,  submission  or 
death — no  quarter.  Alas  !  her  experience  was  the 
common  one,  the  faithlessness  of  friends. 

The  Battle  of  Northampton,  on  July  10,  1460, 
was  lost  by  the  treachery  of  Lord  Grey  de  Ruthen. 
The  Queen  and  Prince  were  posted  upon  an  eminence 
to  view  the  fight,  and  her  military  instinct  detected 
the  base  defection  whereby  Warwick  was  enabled  to 
take  the  King's  army  in  the  rear.  Henry  was 
captured  before  her  eyes,  and  Margaret,  powerless 
to  retrieve  the  disaster,  fled  with  her  boy  at  once  to 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  283 

the  North.  By  a  circuitous  route  they  reached  the 
impregnable  walls  of  Harlech  Castle.  Henry  was 
led  in  mock  triumph  to  the  Tower,  whence  Warwick 
had  the  effrontery  to  demand  the  custody  of  the 
persons  of  the  Queen  and  Prince.  Margaret 
expressed  her  indignation  at  the  insult  emphatically, 
but,  waiting  not  to  bandy  useless  words,  she  hurried 
off  to  Scotland  to  seek  sympathy  and  assistance. 
Meanwhile  the  Duke  of  York  formally  claimed  the 
crown.  Margaret's  response  was  impressive.  With- 
out difficulty  she  roused  Scottish  enthusiasm, — 
generally  so  slow  to  move, — and,  sweeping  across  the 
border,  she  gathered  in  her  train  an  army  of  60,000 
men,  and  appeared  before  the  gates  of  York.  There 
she  called  a  plenary  council  of  lords,  to  whom  she 
expressed  her  determination  "  to  rest  not  till  I  have 
entered  London  and  set  free  the  King." 

York,  taken  by  surprise,  hastened  to  meet  the 
valiant  Queen,  and  found  her  encamped  at  Wakefield. 
Warned  of  his  approach,  she  sent  heralds  to  his 
quarters,  who  in  her  name  defied  the  Duke  "  to 
meet  her  in  honest,  open  fight."  He  held  back,  and 
then  she  poured  the  vials  of  her  scorn  upon  his  head : 
"  Doth  want  of  courage,"  she  exclaimed,  "  allow  thee 
to  be  browbeaten  by  a  woman — fie  on  thee,  thou 
traitor  !"  The  battle  was  joined  on  December  30, 
and  gained  in  less  than  half  an  hour.  A  troop  of 
horse,  headed  by  young  Lord  Clifford, — and  followed 
immediately  by  the  Queen,  mounted  and  armed, — 
made  an  impetuous  dash  to  where  the  Duke's 
standard  hung  heavy  in  the  still,  damp  air.  It  they 
captured,  and  forthwith  threw  it  over  Margaret's 
knees,  and  with  his  sword  Clifford  struck  the  rebel 
leader  down  from  his  horse,  and  slew  him  as  he  lay 


284    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

at  Margaret's  feet.  In  a  trice  he  had  severed  the 
head  of  her  mortal  enemy,  and  upon  his  knee  he 
offered  the  ghastly  trophy  to  his  Queen.  "  Madam," 
he  said,  "  the  war  is  over ;  here  is  the  King's 
ransom !"  The  Queen  turned  sick  at  the  terrible 
sight,  and  hysterically  sobbed  and  laughed  alternately, 
and  she  screamed  aloud  when  soldiers  stuffed  the 
blood-dripping  head  into  a  common  chaff-sack.  Lord 
Clifford  she  knighted  on  the  spot,  using  his  own 
gory  sword ;  then  she  ordered  York's  head  to  be 
carried  off  to  York,  and  placed  on  the  city's  southern 
gateway. 

Salisbury  was  also  hors  de  combat,  wounded  and 
a  prisoner,  and  by  the  Queen's  orders  he  was  beheaded 
on  the  field  of  battle, — for  he  would  not  yield  his 
sword  and  word, — and  his  head  was  placed  by  the  side 
of  his  leader's.  In  a  moment,  too,  of  justifiable 
vengeance,  the  Queen  directed  that  space  should  be 
left  on  that  carrion  portal  for  two  other  traitors' 
heads — Warwick's  and  March's.  "  There,"  she  said, 
"  they  all  four  shall  dangle  till  the  rain  and  the  sun 
and  the  birds  have  consumed  them — warnings  to  all 
and  sundry  who  shall  hereafter  raise  voice  and  hand 
against  their  liege." 

Margaret  pushed  south,  and  at  St.  Albans,  on 
February  17,  met  Warwick,  with  the  King  in  his 
camp.  The  issue  was  soon  decided  ;  2,000  Yorkists 
were  slain,  and  Henry  and  Margaret  were  united 
once  more.  Lord  Montague  discovered  him  alone 
seated  under  a  tree.  Clifford  galloped  off  to  the 
Queen  to  tell  her  the  good  news,  and,  bereft  of  kirtle 
and  veil  and  every  sign  of  royalty,  she  rushed  as  she 
was  to  where  the  King  was  awaiting  her.  He  bade 
her  kneel  before  he  embraced  her,  and  gave  her 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  285 

then  and  there  the  knightly  accolade,  as  well  as  to 
his  son,  who  had  run  as  hard  as  he  could  after  his 
mother,  and  he  also  knighted  sixty  worthy,  loyal 
gentlemen.  All  entered  the  abbey  church  for  Te  Deum 
and  Benediction,  and  then  the  royal  pair  sought  the 
monastery  for  rest  and  food.  Leaving  Henry  at  his 
devotions,  and  the  Prince  to  cheer  him,  Margaret 
again  mounted  her  charger  and  marched  straight  on 
London,  where  York's  eldest  son,  Edward,  Earl  of 
March,  a  lad  of  eighteen,  had  been  proclaimed  King 
as  Edward  IV.  Perhaps  over-confident,  and  at  all 
events  uncompromising  in  her  intention  to  punish 
the  disloyal  and  rebel  citizens,  she  failed  to  post  her 
army  advantageously,  although  she  had  60,000  men 
against  Warwick's  40,000.  At  Towton  the  fates 
were  once  more  against  her,  and  she,  with  the  King 
and  the  Prince,  fled  for  their  lives  to  Newcastle,  and 
over  the  border  to  the  friendly  Court  of  the  Queen 
Regent,  Margaret.  Henry  was  established  in  royal 
state  at  Kirkcudbright,  and  the  Queen  and  Prince  at 
Dunfermline,  and  there  the  little  fellow,  just  eight 
years  of  age,  was  betrothed  to  the  young  King's 
sister,  Margaret. 

Margaret  was  really  happy  in  her  new  home,  and, 
resourceful  as  she  was  and  never  cast  down,  she 
turned  her  attention  to  peaceful  pursuits,  and  in  par- 
ticular interested  herself  in  the  local  industry  of 
wool-weaving.  She  had  seen  her  father's  and  her 
mother's  interest,  in  her  happy  days  in  Lorraine  and 
Anjou,  in  the  craftsmen  and  craftswomen  about 
them,  and  her  own  skilful  fingers  had  busied  them- 
selves in  homely,  peaceful  avocations.  Margaret 
endeared  herself  to  her  Fifeshire  friends,  as  she 
usually  did  to  all  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  be 


286     RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

thrown    into    contact    with    her,    and    they   sang   of 

her  : 

"  God  bless  Margaret  of  Anjou, 
For  she  taught  Dunfermline  how  to  sew." 

It  was  said,  too,  of  Margaret,  that  "  if  she  had 
not  been  destined  to  play  the  r6le  of  Bellona,  she 
would  have  glorified  that  of  Minerva."  The  Earl  of 
March, — to  whom  she  never  allowed  the  style  of 
Edward  IV., — was  wont  to  repeat  his  quaint  joke  : 
"  Margaret  is  more  to  be  feared  when  a  fugitive 
than  all  the  leaders  of  Lancaster  put  together  !" 

On  April  16,  1462,  Queen  Margaret  bade  adieu  to 
her  consort  at  Kirkcudbright,  and  with  her  son  and 
suite,  in  four  well-found  Scottish  galleys,  set  sail  for 
France.  She  landed  at  Ecluse  in  Brittany,  after 
more  perils  on  the  sea,  and  was  cordially  welcomed 
by  Duke  Francis,  who  gave  her  12,000  livres. 
Thence  she  made  straight  to  Chinon, — of  happy 
memories, — to  interview  King  Louis,  who  had  just 
been  crowned  at  Reims,  upon  the  death  of  his  father, 
Charles  VII.  There  she  was  folded  in  the  loving 
arms  of  her  dear  aunt,  Queen  Marie  ;  and  what  a 
meeting  that  was  for  both  royal  ladies  !  They  had 
not  seen  each  other  since  that  auspicious  wedding- 
day  sixteen  years  before.  Then  they  were  both  in 
the  heyday  of  prosperity  ;  now  both  were  crushed  by 
Providence — Marie  flouted  by  her  ill-conditioned, 
jealous  daughter-in-law,  Charlotte  de  Savoy,  now 
Queen-consort  of  France,  and  Margaret  a  fugitive  ! 

Louis  played  a  double  game — a  cruel  one  indeed, 
and  insincere  so  far  as  Margaret  was  concerned.  He 
spoke  to  her  fairly,  but  his  mind  was  with  the  usurp- 
ing King  of  England.  Under  one  pretext  or  another 
he  delayed  his  reply  to  her  plea  for  assistance,  but  at 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  287 

length,  in  desperation,  Margaret  pledged  Jersey  with 
him  for  2,000  French  bowmen.  King  Rene*  was  in 
Provence,  but,  taking  a  hint  from  Louis  that  his 
presence  would  be  undesirable  just  then  in  Anjou,  he 
sent  for  his  daughter  to  join  him  at  Aix.  This  was 
impossible  ;  for  Margaret  time  was  all  too  valuable, 
and  she  set  sail  for  Scotland  on  October  10.  With 
her  went  a  few  single-hearted  knights,  but  of  all  the 
hosts  of  admirers  and  loyal  followers  of  sixteen  years 
before,  only  one  of  mark  wore  his  badge  of  chivalry 
consistently — the  gallant  and  accomplished  Pierre  de 
Breze",  a  preux  chevalier  indeed,  the  forerunner  of 
Bay  art,  and  like  him  "  sans  peur  et  sans  reproche" 

Again  the  elements  were  not  only  unpropitious, 
but  malevolent.  Escaping  the  vigilance  of  Edward's 
cruisers,  and  the  rebel  guns  of  Tynemouth,  basely 
trained  upon  their  Queen,  her  ships  were  wrecked 
on  Holy  Island.  There  500  of  her  troops  were 
massacred,  and  Margaret  and  de  Breze,  and  a  very 
meagre  following,  put  to  sea  in  a  fisherman's  open 
boat  which  landed  them  on  Bamborough  sands.  The 
banner  of  Henry  of  Lancaster,  once  more  raised 
aloft  by  Margaret,  magnet  -  like  drew  all  the 
northern  counties,  and  in  spite  of  Somerset's  deser- 
tion the  Queen  soon  found  herself  at  the  head  of 
a  formidable  army,  with  the  King  beside  her  and  the 
Prince.  Once  more  at  Hexham  fickle  fortune  failed 
the  intrepid  Queen.  Henry  was  again  a  captive,  but 
Margaret  and  Edward  made  good  their  escape  over 
the  Scottish  border. 

How  often,  when  human  affairs  appear  most 
desperate,  and  all  hope  and  effort  are  thrown  away, 
help  comes  from  some  unexpected  quarter !  So  it 
was  in  Queen  Margaret's  experience.  There  is  a 

19 


288     RENtf  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

romantic  tale  with  respect  to  her  flight  from  Hex- 
ham's  stricken  field  —  the  story  of  the  robber. 
Whether  one  or  more  outlaws  waylaid  and  robbed 
the  fugitives  it  matters  not,  but,  stripped  of  every- 
thing but  the  clothes  they  wore,  Queen  and  Prince 
were  in  dismal  straits.  Wonder  of  wonders !  a 
messenger  followed  Margaret  from  no  less  a  person 
than  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  the  inveterate  enemy 
of  her  house,  the  friend  and  ally  of  the  English  in 
France.  The  message  was  in  effect  an  invitation  to 
the  Queen  and  Prince  to  Flanders — the  splendid 
appanage  of  ducal  Burgundy.  Margaret's  implacable 
foes, — the  winds  and  seas, — were  waiting  for  their 
prey,  and  nearly  secured  their  quarry  as  she  tossed 
to  and  fro  across  the  wild  North  Sea  on  her  way  to 
meet  Philippe.  Landing  on  the  Flemish  coast  on 
July  31, — when  storm  and  tempest  should  never 
have  appeared, — with  utmost  difficulty,  the  Queen 
presented  a  sorry  figure.  No  badge  or  symbol  of 
royalty  marked  her  worn-out  figure ;  she  was  clad 
meanly  in  a  coarse  short  worsted  skirt — robette — 
without  chemise  or  shawl,  her  stockings  low  down  on 
her  heels,  her  hair  dishevelled  and  unveiled.  Who 
could  have  recognized  in  that  chastened  traveller 
"  the  loveliest  woman  in  Christendom  "? 

True  to  his  loyal  devotion,  Sieur  Pierre  de  Breze 
was  with  his  Queen  poor  as  herself,  he  had,  he 
said,  "  spent  50,000  crowns  for  nothing" — and  a 
faithful  valet,  Louis  Carbonelle,  and  no  more  than 
seven  women-dresses.  At  once  the  Duke  was 
apprised  of  Margaret's  coming ;  but,  being  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  Our  Lady  of  Boulogne,  he  sent  his 
apologies  by  Philippe  Pot,  Seigneur  de  la  Roche 
and  a  Knight  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  bidding  the 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  289 

Queen  welcome,  and  saying  that  he  would  present 
his  homage  to  her  shortly  if  she  would  proceed  direct 
to  Bruges. 

That  progress  was  a  nightmare,  an  "  Inferno,"  a 
masquerade — what  you  will :  the  Queen  of  England 
clad  in  rags,  her  hair  untired,  seated  in  a  common 
country  bullock-cart,  drawn  by  a  pair  of  sorry  steeds, 
mocked  all  the  way  along  as  "  Une  Merrie  Moll" 
"  Une  Naufrage'e !"  "  Une  Sorciere  de  Vent!"  The 
Comte  de  Charolois,  heir  to  the  duchy,  met  her 
Majesty  at  the  digue,  saluted  her  with  all  reverence, 
and  conducted  her  to  the  Castle  of  St.  Pol.  On  the 
morrow  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  arrived,  and  at  once 
went  to  the  Queen's  lodgings  to  pay  his  homage. 
Right  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  where  Margaret 
stood  to  greet  him,  with  a  courtly  bow  he  swept  the 
ground  with  the  drooping  plume  of  his  berretta, 
whilst  the  Queen  curtsied  in  her  abbreviated  gown 
twice  majestically.  Never  was  there  a  finer  piece  of 
royal  burlesque  enacted! 

Margaret  caught  the  Duke  by  the  arm  as  he  was 
about  to  give  the  kiss  of  etiquette.  "  Thanks,  my 
cousin,"  she  said  ;  "  now  I  am,  perhaps,  in  no  fit 
mind  for  compliments.  I  seek  your  aid  for  Henry 
and  our  son,  and  I  beseech  you,  by  the  love  of  Our 
Lady,  not  to  credit  the  abominable  tales  which  have 
been  circulated  touching  me."  The  Duke  did  not 
commit  himself,  but  generously  gave  his  "  sweet 
cousin"  2,000  golden  crowns, — wherewith  "to  fit 
your  Majesty  with  proper  raiment,"  he  said, — and  a 
fine  diamond  to  wear  for  him.  The  next  day  the 
Duchess  of  Bourbon,  Philippe's  sister,  visited  Queen 
Margaret,  and  in  her  she  found  a  sincere  and 
sympathizing  confidante.  She  set  before  the  Duchess 


290    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

all  the  sad  facts  of  her  impoverished  condition,  and 
told  her  all  about  the  hardships  she  and  her  spouse 
and  son  had  met  with  in  England.  "  We  were 
reduced,"  she  said,  "  on  one  occasion  to  one  herring 
among  three,  and  not  more  bread  than  would  suffice 
for  five  days'  nourishment."  She  went  on  to  say 
that  once  at  Mass,  at  Dunfermline,  she  had  no  coin 
for  the  offertory,  and  she  asked  an  archer  of  the 
King  of  Scotland,  kneeling  near  her,  for  a  farthing, 
which  he  most  reluctantly  gave  her. 

"  Alas  !"  replied  the  weeping  Duchess,  "  no  Queen 
save  your  Majesty  has  been  so  hardly  dealt  with  by 
Providence  ;  but  now  we  must  offer  you,  sweet  cousin, 
some  consolation  for  your  sufferings."  One  more 
affecting  speech  of  the  heroic  Queen  must  be  recorded. 
"  When  on  the  day  of  my  espousal,"  she  said,  "  I 
gathered  the  rose  of  England,  I  was  quite  well  aware 
that  I  should  have  to  wear  it  whole  with  all  its 
thorns !" 

The  Duchess,  true  to  her  word,  organized  splendid 
f§tes  at  the  Castle  of  St.  Pol  in  honour  of  the  royal 
refugees,  and  Margaret,  now  attired  as  became  her 
lofty  station,  put  on  one  side  her  cruel  anxieties,  and 
yielded  herself  to  the  pleasures  and  humours  of  the 
festivities.  They  put  her  in  mind  of  the  gay  tourna- 
ments in  her  happy  home — the  Court  of  her  good 
father,  King  Rene". 

Henry  was  all  the  while  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower, 
and  Margaret's  tender  heart  bled  on  his  account. 
She  for  the  moment  was  without  resources,  and  she 
had  to  bide  her  time.  She  knew  that  that  time  would 
come,  and  never  for  a  moment  did  she  lend  herself  to 
unprofitable  despair.  The  Duke  stood  by  her,  a  friend 
in  need,  and  bestowed  both  money  and  an  escort  upon 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  291 

his  royal  visitor.  In  the  spring  of  1463  she  and  the 
Prince  were  welcomed  in  Bar-le-Duc  by  King  Rene 
and  his  Court,  though  it  cost  Margaret  a  pang  to  see 
her  one-time  Maid  of  Honour,  Jehanne  de  Laval,  in 
her  dear  mother's  place. 

Six  months  passed  all  too  swiftly  under  the  hos- 
pitable roofs  of  her  brother  Jean,  Duke  of  Calabria, 
and  now  actual  Duke  of  Lorraine  as  well,  and  of 
her  sister  Yolande,  Countess  of  Vaudemont.  Then 
widowed  Queen  Marie  sent  an  urgent  summons  for 
her  favourite  niece  to  pay  her  a  visit  at  Amboise  in 
Touraine,  and  there  most  happily  Margaret  forgot  her 
troubles,  and  looked  more  hopefully  than  ever  to  the 
future. 

King  Rene's  affairs  were  in  hopeless  confusion,  and 
his  interests  and  resources  were  drained  by  his  son's 
campaign  in  Italy.  He  could  offer  nothing  but  a 
loving  father's  whole-hearted  love  and  protection  to  his 
unfortunate  daughter  and  his  little  grandson,  the 
pride  and  joy  of  his  life.  He  breathed  out  his  deep 
feelings  in  two  elegant  canticles  eloquent  of  Mar- 
garet's woes.  His  example  set  all  the  poets  singing 
sweetly  of  the  Lancastrian  Queen ;  her  beauty  and 
her  accomplishments,  her  troubles  and  her  fortitude, 
appealed  to  them  mightily.  They  sought,  too,  to 
cheer  the  riven  soul  of  their  liege  lord  and  poet  leader : 

"  Rouse  thee,  King  Rene !  rouse  thee,  good  Rene ! 

Let  not  sorrow  all  thy  spirits  beguile. 
Thy  dear  daughter,  brave  spouse  of  King  Henry, 
Tho'  sadly  she  wept  still  she  coaxes  a  smile." 

All  that  Rene  was  able  to  do  for  his  royal  daughter 
was  to  establish  her  and  her  son  at  his  castle  of 
Kuerere,  near  St.  Mihil's  by  Verdun  in  Lorraine, 
with  2,000  Hvres  to  carry  on  the  education  of  the 


292     REN£  D^ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Prince.  Sir  John  Fortescue,  a  soldier  of  fortune, 
was  appointed  his  tutor.  He  was  a  devoted  adherent 
of  the  Red  Rose.  "  We  are,"  he  wrote,  "  reduced  to 
great  poverty,  and  the  Queen  with  difficulty  sus- 
taineth  us  in  meat  and  drink." 

Louis  XI.,  who  had  refused  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  his  unfortunate  cousin,  Queen  Margaret,  at  last 
agreed  to  meet  her  at  Tours  in  December,  1469,  and 
with  her  he  invited  King  Rene  ;  Jean,  Duke  of 
Calabria  and  Lorraine  ;  and  her  sister  Yolande,  with 
her  husband,  Ferri,  Count  of  Vaudemont,  "  to  con- 
sider," as  he  put  it,  "  what  may  or  may  not  be  done." 
Louis  treated  Margaret  with  scant  ceremony.  Whilst 
discussions  were  going  on,  startling  news  came  from 
England  which  very  much  altered  the  situation.  The 
North  and  Midlands  had  again  risen  against  Edward, 
and  Warwick  had  gone  over  to  the  Lancastrians. 
Edward  was  a  prisoner  at  Middleham  Castle,  and 
Warwick  was  virtually  King  of  England  !  The 
diversion  was,  however,  of  short  duration,  for  in  a 
few  weeks  Edward  managed  to  escape.  And  now  it 
was  Warwick's  turn  to  fly.  He  sought  the  French 
Court,  and  confided  in  Louis,  who,  sinister  and 
scheming  as  he  was  always,  saw  a  way  to  help 
Margaret  and  still  be  on  the  winning  side.  The 
King  proposed  an  interview  between  the  Queen  and 
the  Earl,  with  a  view  to  a  reconciliation.  Margaret 
rejected  indignantly  the  proposal.  "  The  Earl  of 
Warwick,"  she  exclaimed,  "  has  pierced  my  heart 
with  wounds  that  can  never  be  healed.  They  will 
bleed  till  the  Day  of  Judgment.  He  hath  done 
things  which  I  can  never  forgive." 

The  King  was,  however,  determined  that  his  idea 
of  a  rapprochement  between  the  Lancastrians  and 


s 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  293 

the  wing  of  the  Yorkists  who  looked  to  Warwick  for 
light  and  leading  should  be  realized,  and  he  urged  his 
view  so  emphatically  upon  Margaret  that  at  last  she 
agreed  to  meet  Warwick,  but  upon  one  condition  : 
that  "  he  shall  unsay  before  your  Majesty  and  the 
King  of  Sicily,  my  father,  all  that  he  has  foully 
uttered  about  me  and  the  Prince,  and  shall  swear  to 
repeat  the  same  at  Paul's  Cross  in  London  later." 

Warwick,  to  the  amazement  of  Louis,  agreed  to  this 
condition,  and  forthwith  presented  himself  most 
humbly  to  the  Queen  upon  his  knees.  Swordless, 
gloveless,  and  uncovered,  he  sought  pardon  for  his 
evil  conduct,  and  prayed  her  to  accept  him  as  her  true 
henchman  and  devoted  lieutenant.  Margaret  seemed 
stunned  by  this  extraordinary  volte-face,  and  kept  the 
Earl  upon  his  knees  quite  a  long  time  before  she 
vouchsafed  a  reply.  At  last  she  extended  her  hand 
for  him  to  kiss,  and  he,  further,  servilely  kissed  the  fur 
hem  of  her  robe.  Then  he  laid  his  plans  before  the 
august  company  for  releasing  the  King  and  placing 
him  once  more  upon  his  throne.  He  next  called  on 
King  Louis  and  King  Rene  to  stand  surety  for  the 
performance  of  his  purpose.  He  said  he  could  com- 
mand immediately  50,000  men  to  fight  under  his 
orders,  and  he  craved  the  presence  of  the  Queen  in 
the  saddle  by  his  side. 

With  Warwick  was  the  Earl  of  Oxford  and  other 
leaders  of  his  party,  who  all  knelt  in  homage  to  the 
Queen  and  craved  her  clemency.  To  Oxford  she  at 
once  extended  her  hand.  "  Your  pardon,  my  lord," 
she  said,  "  is  right  easy.  What  wrongs  you  have  done 
me  are  cancelled  by  what  you  have  borne  for  King 
Henry."  The  conference  at  Tours  was  adjourned, 
and  resumed  at  the  Castle  of  Angers  ;  and  then 


294     RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

Louis  had  another  startling  proposition  to  lay  before 
Queen  Margaret :  no  less  than  the  betrothal  of  Prince 
Edward, — now  a  well-grown  and  handsome  lad  of 
seventeen, — to  the  Earl  of  Warwick's  daughter 
Anne  !  Margaret  flared  up  at  once.  "  Impossible  !" 
she  said.  "  What !  will  he  indeed  give  his  daughter 
to  my  royal  son,  whom  he  has  so  often  branded  as 
the  offspring  of  adultery  or  fraud  !  By  God's  name, 
that  can  never  be  !" 

For  a  whole  fortnight  Margaret  stood  her  ground. 
She  could  not  agree  to  this  extraordinary  proposal  ; 
but  then  the  peaceful,  fatherly  insistence  of  Rene 
caused  her  to  relent,  but  not  before  she  roundly  rated 
her  good  sire  for  his  pusillanimity  and  too  ready 
credence.  Meanwhile  the  Countess  of  Warwick  and 
her  daughter  had  arrived  at  Amboise,  and  had  been 
most  ostentatiously  received  by  King  Louis.  Then 
happened,  by  happy  coincidence,  an  event  vastly 
important  to  the  King  of  France — the  birth  of  an 
heir.  Queen  Charlotte  was  delivered  of  a  son,  the 
future  Charles  VIII.,  on  June  30.  Nothing  would 
content  the  King  but  Prince  Edward  and  Anne 
Neville  must  be  among  the  child's  sponsors.  At  the 
same  time,  to  influence  Queen  Margaret,  Warwick,  at 
Louis's  suggestion,  made  a  solemn  asseveration  in  the 
cathedral  church  of  Angers  :  "  Upon  this  fragment  of 
the  True  Cross  I  promise  to  be  true  to  King  Henry  VI. 
of  England  ;  to  Queen  Margaret,  his  spouse  ;  and  to 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  his  true  and  only  son  ;  and  to  go 
back  at  once  to  England,  raise  50,000  men,  and 
restore  the  King  to  his  honours."  Louis  gave  him 
46,000  gold  crowns  and  2,000  French  archers,  and  at 
the  same  time  asked  Queen  Margaret  to  accept  the 
charge  of  his  young  daughter  Anne  whilst  he  was 
away. 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  295 

Margaret  could  not  stand  out  any  longer,  and  so, 
immediately  after  the  baptismal  ceremony, — where 
she  herself  held  her  little  royal  nephew  at  the  font, 
— Edward,  Prince  of  Wales,  and  Anne  Neville  were 
betrothed  with  gorgeous  ceremonial  in  the  Chapel  of 
St.  Florentin,  within  the  Castle  of  Amboise,  in  the 
presence  of  nearly  all  the  Sovereigns  of  France  and 
their  Courts. 

"  The  Prince,"  so  said  the  chroniclers,  "  is  one  of  the 
handsomest  and  most  accomplished  Princes  in  Europe, 
tall,  fair  like  his  mother,  and  with  her  soft  voice  and 
courteous  carriage,  was  well  pleased  with  his  pretty 
and  sprightly  fiancee."  People  sought  to  belittle  the 
match,  and  called  it  a  mesalliance;  but  the  bride's 
great-grandmother  was  Joanna  Beaufort,  daughter 
of  Prince  John  of  Ghent,  Edward  III.'s  third  son. 
She  married  the  Earl  of  Westmoreland.  In  Queen 
Margaret's  estimation,  what  certainly  did  weigh 
very  considerably  was  the  fact  that  her  daughter-in- 
law-to-be  was  one  of  the  wealthiest  heiresses  in 
England.  The  august  company  went  on  to  Angers 
after  the  double  ceremony,  at  the  desire  of  Queen 
Margaret,  who  insisted  that  a  Prince  of  Wales  could 
only  be  married  in  his  ancestral  dominions.  She 
cited  the  intention  of  King  Rene  to  leave  to  her  and 
her  heirs  the  duchy  of  Anjou,  and  so  she  claimed 
it  as  already  English  territory.  Louis  acceded  to 
her  whim.  He  could  afford  to  wait  and  watch  the 
course  of  events.  The  marriage  of  Prince  Edward 
and  the  Lady  Anne  was  consequently  solemnized,  on 
August  15,  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Maurice,  which 
had  witnessed  so  many  royal  functions. 

The  Earl  of  Warwick,  accompanied  by  the  Duke 
of  Clarence,  grandson  of  King  Henry  IV.,  departed 


296     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

immediately  for  England,  to  make  good  his  brave 
words  and  prove  his  loyalty.  His  proclamation  in 
favour  of  Henry,  Margaret,  and  Edward,  produced 
an  immense  sensation,  and  in  a  couple  of  days  he 
found  himself  in  command  of  70,000  men,  all  crying, 
"  A  Henry  !  A  Henry  I"  Edward  IV.  immediately 
left  the  capital  and  sought  the  friendly  shores  of 
Holland,  and  Warwick  was,  without  a  blow  being 
struck,  master  of  the  kingdom.  His  first  step  was 
to  send  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  to  the  Tower,  to 
clothe  King  Henry  in  regal  robes,  and  conduct  him 
with  the  Sovereign's  escort  to  the  Palace  of  West- 
minster. On  October  1 3  the  King  went  to  St.  Paul's, 
wearing  once  more  his  crown.  Louis  ordered  Te 
Deum  to  be  sung  in  every  church  in  France,  and 
went  in  person  to  the  Castle  of  Saumur  to  salute 
Queen  Margaret.  Early  in  November  the  Queen, 
with  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  and  a  very 
distinguished  following,  set  out  for  Paris,  on  their 
way  to  London.  Every  town  through  which  the 
royal  cortege  passed  was  gaily  decorated,  and  the 
hearty  plaudits  of  the  thronging  inhabitants  were 
mingled  with  the  joy  peals  of  all  the  bells. 

Harfleur  once  more  was  fixed  upon  as  the  port 
of  passage,  and  once  more  the  Channel  churned  and 
a  tempest  fell  upon  the  royal  flotilla.  Nobody  has 
been  able  to  explain  why  Margaret  of  England  was 
so  persistently  persecuted  by  the  divinities  of  the 
weather.  Twice  they  put  back  to  port,  and  then, 
after  tossing  about  for  sixteen  whole  days  and  nights, 
they  made  Weymouth, — a  passage  ordinarily  of  no 
more  than  as  many  hours, — and  landed  on  April  13. 
That  day  was  indeed  ill-omened  for  the  cause  Queen 
Margaret  had  at  heart,  and  for  which  she  had  suffered 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  297 

such  appalling  vicissitudes.  The  Battle  of  Barnet 
was  fought  and  lost ;  Warwick  was  killed,  and  King 
Henry  was  again  a  prisoner.  Verily,  Queen  Mar- 
garet's star  was  a  blaze  of  disasters  ! 

The  terrible  news  staggered  the  courageous  Queen  ; 
she  swooned,  but  soon  recovered  her  usual  equanimity, 
although  out  of  the  bitterness  of  her  soul  she  sobbed  : 
"  Better  die  right  out,  methinks,  than  exist  so  in- 
securely !"  She  appeared  to  have  no  plan  of  action, 
for  such  a  disaster  seemed  to  be  impossible  ;  so,  to 
gain  time  for  thought  and  effort,  she  moved  herself 
and  those  she  loved  into  the  safe  sanctuary  of  Beaulieu 
Abbey.  There  Somerset  and  many  other  notable 
fugitives  forgathered.  To  them  she  counselled  retreat 
— "  Till  Providence,"  she  said,  "  ordereth  better  luck." 
The  Prince  now  for  the  first  time  asserted  himself, 
and,  with  his  mother's  daring,  gave  an  emphatic  "  No." 
At  Bath  a  goodly  array  of  soldiers  rallied  to  the 
royal  standard,  and  Margaret  determined  to  cross  the 
Severn  and  join  her  forces  to  Jasper  Tudor 's  army 
of  sturdy  loyal  Welshmen.  The  Duke  of  Gloucester 
opposed  her  advance,  and  so  she  turned  aside  to 
Tewkesbury,  and  there  encamped. 

The  morrow  (May  4,  1471)  was  to  be  the  darkest 
in  all  the  chequered  career  of  Margaret  of  Anjou 
and  England.  Sweet  Pentecost  though  it  was,  the 
spirit  of  comfort  belied,  failed  the  fated  Queen  once 
more.  With  early  dawn  fell  aslant  the  springtide 
sunbeams  a  rain  of  feathered  hail.  Battle  was  joined, 
each  man  at  his  post — save  one,  the  perjured  Lord 
Wenlock.  His  command,  in  the  centre  of  Queen 
Margaret's  forces,  lacked  its  leader,  and  Somerset 
rode  off  to  find  him.  At  a  low  brothel  he  discovered 
the  miscreant  drinking  with  and  fondling  loose 


298     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

wenches.  "  Traitor  !"  cried  the  Duke  ;  "  die,  thou 
scoundrel  !"  And  he  clove  his  head  in  two.  This 
defection  caused  irretrievable  disaster ;  still,  the 
Prince  of  Wales  did  prodigies  of  valour,  and  so  did 
many  more  ;  but  he  was  felled  from  his  horse,  and 
the  "  Hope  of  England "  was  lead  captive  to 
victorious  Edward's  tent.  Received  with  every 
mark  of  discourtesy,  the  heart  of  the  chivalrous 
young  Prince  must  have  quailed  as  he  stood  before 
the  arch-enemy  of  his  house,  but  he  had  very  little 
time  for  reflection. 

"  How  durst  thou,  changeling,  presumptuously 
enter  my  dominions  with  banners  displayed  against 
me  ?"  demanded  Edward. 

"  To  recover  my  father's  crown,  the  heritage  of 
my  ancestors,"  bravely  replied  the  Prince. 

"  Speakest  thou  thus  to  me,  thou  upstart !  See, 
I  smite  thee  on  thy  bastard  mouth  !"  roughly  ex- 
claimed the  conqueror,  and  with  that  he  demeaned 
himself  and  the  crown  he  fought  for  by  cowardly 
and  savagely  striking  with  his  mailed  fist  the  unsus- 
pecting and  unarmed  Prince.  This  treacherous  blow 
was  the  signal  to  the  titled  scoundrels  standing  by 
for  a  murderous  attack  upon  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
He  fell  crying  fearlessly  :  "  A  Henry  !  A  Henry  !" 
pierced  by  many  daggers.  It  was  a  dark  deed  and 
dastardly  ;  its  stain  no  course  of  years  will  ever  cleanse, 
and  Edward  IV.  is  for  all  time  "  Bloody  Edward." 

Queen  Margaret,  seeing  the  hopelessness  of  the 
conflict,  and  fearing  the  worst  had  happened  to  the 
Prince, — for  he  never  came  to  cheer  her, — took  the 
Princess  and  fled  to  a  convent  hard  by  the  battle- 
field, and  there  lay  concealed.  Edward,  yielding  to 
the  base  instincts  of  a  cruel  nature,  very  soon  got 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  299 

news  of  Margaret's  hiding-place,  and  with  a  demoni- 
acal scowl,  "  Ah,  ah  !"  he  cried  out,  "  we've  settled 
the  cub  ;  now  for  the  she-wolf!" 

The  Queen  was  dragged  from  her  hiding-place, 
and  borne  to  Edward's  quarters,  where,  like  the 
brute  he  was,  he  reviled  and  insulted  her. 

"  Slay  me,  thou  bloodthirsty  wretch,  if  thou  wilt ! 
I  care  not  for  death  at  thy  desecrating  hands  !  May 
God  strike  thee,  as  He  will !"  she  exclaimed. 

Margaret  was  sent  to  the  Tower,  but  not  to  her 
husband  ;  they  were  kept  apart,  and  the  Princess  of 
Wales  was  delivered  over  to  the  care  of  her  uncle,  the 
Archbishop  of  York.  But  even  so  Edward's  malice 
was  not  exhausted.  The  Queen  was  conducted  with- 
out honour,  or  even  decency,  in  the  suite  of  Edward 
on  his  return  to  the  capital.  At  Coventry, — of  all 
places  for  further  outrage,  a  place  so  greatly  agree- 
able to  Henry  and  herself, — ill-fated  Margaret  was 
subjected  to  personal  insults  from  her  vanquisher. 
In  reply  she  reviled  him,  and  thrust  him  with  abhor- 
rence from  her.  In  revenge  he  ordered  her  to  be 
fastened  upon  a  common  sumpter  horse,  and  he 
ordered  a  placard  to  be  placed  on  her  breast, 
"  This  is  Queen  Margaret,  good  lieges,"  and  her 
hands  were  tied  behind  her  back.  Thus  was  the 
most  valiant,  most  unselfish,  and  most  loyal  Queen 
that  England  ever  had  led  to  grace  the  mock 
triumph  of  a  royal  murderer.  She  was  thrust  into 
the  foulest  dungeon  of  the  grim  Tower,  and  there 
remained,  bereft  of  food,  of  service,  and  wellnigh  of 
reason,  too,  for  seven  dreary,  weary  months. 

The  day  after  her  incarceration  King  Henry's 
dead  body  was  discovered  in  his  cell.  Gloucester, 
it  was  said,  had  killed  him  ;  but  Edward  was,  if 


300    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

not  the  actual  murderer,  privy  to  the  deed.  Queen 
Margaret,  hearing  in  her  dark,  foul  den  the  heavy 
tramp  of  men-at-arms,  scrambled  up  to  the  bars 
of  her  little  window,  and  beheld, — what  probably 
Edward  meant  she  should, — the  corpse  of  her  slaugh- 
tered husband  borne  past  for  burial.  No  ceremony 
of  any  kind  accompanied  that  mournful  passing.  At 
St.  Paul's,  Henry's  body  was  exposed  in  a  chapel 
of  the  crypt,  and  then  it  found  merciful  sepulture  in 
the  God's-acre  at  Chertsey  Abbey. 

That  her  beloved  son, — her  one  and  only  hope, — 
was  dead  as  well,  heart-broken  Margaret  gathered 
amid  ribald  blasphemies  of  the  intoxicated  soldiery  as 
she  was  borne  to  London  in  that  "  Triumph."  Now 
was  she  bereft  indeed,  and  nothing  seemed  so  desir- 
able as  death  ;  indeed,  she  resigned  herself,  and  pre- 
pared herself  for  execution  at  any  moment,  at  any 
savage  hint  of  her  consort's  supplanter  on  England's 
throne — accursed  Edward  !  It  was,  however,  not  to 
be  supposed  that  King  Louis  of  France  or  King 
Rene*  of  Sicily- Anjou  should  silently  condone  the 
unhalting  cruelty  of  a  bloodthirsty  monarch,  especially 
when  the  person  and  the  honour  of  a  French  Princess 
were  at  stake. 

III. 

Efforts  were  made,  more  or  less  feeble,  for  the 
delivery  of  the  incarcerated  Queen  by  Louis, — fearful 
of  offence  to  the  Yorkist  King, — and  by  Rene",  who 
had  no  resources  with  which  to  back  up  his  appeal. 
Anyhow,  Margaret  was,  at  the  Christmas  following 
the  fatal  battle,  released  from  durance  vile,  and  con- 
signed to  the  care  of  the  Duchess-Dowager  of 
Somerset, — one  of  her  earliest  friends, — and  went  to 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  301 

live  under  her  wing  at  Wallingford.  Edward  made 
her  the  beggarly  grant  of  5  marks  weekly  for  the 
support  of  herself  and  two  maid-servants  !  There 
Margaret  remained  for  five  years,  each  one  more 
intolerable  than  its  predecessor. 

At  the  Peace  of  Picquigny,  August  29,  1475, 
between  Louis  and  Edward,  the  latter  agreed  to 
accept  a  ransom  of  50,000  gold  crowns  for  the 
widowed  Queen.  This  compact  was  not  an  act  of 
grace  on  the  part  of  Louis  so  much  as  a  quid  pro 
quo.  He  insisted  upon  Rene  ceding  Provence  to  the 
crown  of  France,  upon  his  death,  by  way  of  payment 
of  the  ransom.  Still,  in  this  matter  Edward  was  as 
good  as  his  bond,  and  directly  the  first  instalment  of 
the  amount  was  paid  in  London  to  John  Howard, 
Edward's  Treasurer,  Margaret  was  conducted  to  Sand- 
wich, not  without  indignity,  and  placed  upon  a 
common  fishing-boat.  Landing  at  Dieppe,  January 
14,  1476,  she  was  taken  on  to  Rouen,  where  she 
received  the  following  affecting  letter  from  her 
sorrowing  father,  King  Ren6  : 

"  Ma  fille,  que  Dieu  vous  assiste  dans  vos  conseils, 
car  cest  rarement  des  hommes  gu'il  faut  en  attendre 
dans  les  revers  de  fortune.  Lorsque  vous  desirierez 
moins  ressentir  vos  peines,  pensez  aux  miennes ;  elles 
sont  grandes,  mafille,  et  pourtant  je  vous  console."* 

True  enough,  the  troubles  and  reverses  of  King 
Ren6  were  more  than  fall  to  the  lot  of  most  men  of 
high  culture  and  degree ;  but  what  of  Queen  Margaret's 

*  "  My  child,  may  God  assist  thee  in  thy  counsels,  for  rarely  do 
men  render  help  in  times  of  fortune's  reverses.  When  you  desire 
to  resent  your  trials  the  least,  think  of  mine ;  they  are  great,  my 
child,  and  therefore  I  wish  to  console  you." 


302     RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

shipwreck  ?  For  nearly  thirty  years  she  had  endured 
experiences  which  had  tried  no  other  Queen  half  so 
hardly ;  and  all  the  while  she  had  set  a  unique 
example  of  devotion,  loyalty,  courage,  and  endurance, 
unexampled  in  history.  There  never  was  a  truer 
wife,  a  more  self-sacrificing  mother,  a  more  intrepid 
and  a  nobler  Queen,  than  Margaret  of  Anjou. 

From  Rouen  the  Queen  sent  a  message  to  King 
Louis,  desiring  to  see  him  ;  but  he,  knowing  well  her 
desperate  case,  and  seeing  no  likelihood  of  profit 
accruing  to  himself,  coward-like,  evaded  an  interview. 
His  miserable  aunt  might  forage  for  herself,  for  all 
he  cared,  and  go  where  she  listed,  but  not  to  Paris 
nor  Amboise.  With  bent  head  and  slow  feet,  the 
great  heroine  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  broken  like 
a  pitcher  at  a  fountain,  took  her  lonely  way  no  more 
in  gallant  cavalcade,  but  almost  in  funereal  cortege, 
to  Anjou  and  Angers — the  cradle  of  her  race. 

At  Reculee  father  and  daughter  once  more 
embraced  each  other.  Alas,  what  a  sorrowful  meet- 
ing that  was,  and  how  mixed  their  feelings  ! 
Margaret's  filial  duty  conquered  the  reproaches  she 
had  prepared,  and  Rene"s  tears  and  silence  spoke 
more  loudly  than  words  of  regret  could  do.  Provi- 
dence had  been  cruel  to  them  both.  Rene"  loved 
Reculee  for  its  peace  and  solitude,  and  there  Margaret 
should  repose  awhile  and  recover  mind  and  body. 
No  prettier  resort  was  there  in  all  Anjou  than  the 
Maison  de  Reculee — "  Reculee  "  Rene  named  it,  a 
place  of  "  recoil "  from  the  buffetings  of  fate.  He 
had  purchased  the  estate,  in  1465,  from  one  Colin,  an 
Angers  butcher,  for  300  ecus  d'or,  and  had  greatly 
enjoyed  laying  out  the  estate  and  erecting  a  bijou 
residence.  His  paintings  and  his  sculptures,  his 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  303 

books,  his  music  scores,  his  miniatures,  and  all  his 
artistic  hobbies,  he  lavished  there  for  himself  and  fair 
Queen  Jehanne.  They  often  dropped  down  the 
Maine  in  a  pleasure  barge,  and  landed  in  the  sedges, 
full  of  warblers  and  wild  life.  Reculee  was  but  a 
league  or  two  from  Angers.  Hard  by  the  manoir 
was  the  sheltered  and  picturesque  hermitage  of  La 
Baumette, — a  shrine  of  St.  Baume,  patroness  of 
Provence, — and  hither  Rene  and  Margaret  resorted 
daily  for  prayer  and  meditation. 

Margaret's  home-coming  was  sad  enough,  but  her 
demeanour  was  rather  that  of  defiance  than  of 
patience.  Her  pride  had  been  laid  low  by  her  suffer- 
ings and  ill-treatment,  but  not  slain  ;  and  when  she 
heard  of  the  treachery  and  chicanery  of  the  King  of 
France  in  entering  Angers  in  force,  and  proclaiming 
himself  Sovereign  of  Anjou,  her  scorn  knew  no 
bounds,  and  she  chided  her  father  for  his  pusillanimity, 
and  reproached  him  for  his  dilettante  life.  His 
sedentary  pleasures  and  his  artistic  tastes  bored  her 
cruelly  ;  she  despised  his  peaceful  handiwork,  and 
craved  his  strong  arm  once  more  in  the  fight.  If 
England  was  lost  to  her,  Anjou  and  Provence  should 
not  be ;  this  was  her  grim  determination,  and  she 
roused  herself  for  action  and  foray.  Like  a  lioness  at 
bay,  she  fought  out  to  a  finish  strenuously  her  troubled 
life,  away  from  stricken  fields  and  gruesome  dungeons. 
Rene  felt  his  daughter's  strictures  more  acutely  than 
he  said  ;  indeed,  they  fell  like  blows  of  sharp  poniards 
upon  his  wounded  heart.  The  deaths  of  all  his  near 
relatives,  sons  and  daughters,  and  his  son-in-law, 
Ferri  de  Vaudemont,  saddening  as  they  were,  were 
as  nothing  to  the  vituperations  of  Margaret — now 
almost  a  frenzied  recluse.  King  Rene  sank  at  last, 

20 


304     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

wearied,  heart-broken,  yet  trustful  in  his  God,  into 
his  mortal  resting-place,  and  Queen  Margaret  retired 
to  the  Castle  of  Dampiere,  near  Saumur,  the  modest 
manoir  of  a  devoted  servant  of  her  father's  house, — 
the  Sieur  Fran§ois  de  la  Vignolles,  of  Moraens, — to 
end  her  dire  days  of  woe. 

Her  father  left  her  what  he  could,  impoverished 
as  he  was  :  1,000  gold  crowns  and  the  Castle  of 
Queniez — an  inconsiderable  estate  between  Angers 
and  Saumur.  Rene*  wrote  to  Louis  a  few  months 
before  his  death,  commending  Margaret  to  his  care 
and  charity,  and  this  is  how  the  King  of  France 
executed  the  trust,  so  characteristic  of  his  greed  and 
cunning.  He  negotiated  with  Margaret  the  sale  of 
her  reversionary  rights  in  Lorraine,  Anjou,  Maine, 
Provence,  and  Barrois,  for  an  annual  income  of 
600  livres.  The  deed  was  executed  at  Reculee, 
November  19,  1480,  but  Louis  never  paid  the 
annuity  !  One  purpose  Margaret  had  in  view  in  this 
arrangement  was  the  recovery  of  the  bodies  of  her 
husband  and  son,  that  she  might  give  them  decent 
burial.  Edward  IV.  would  not  allow  this  seemly 
duty,  and  the  bones  of  the  illustrious  dead  were  left 
dishonoured  and  unnoted. 

Margaret's  nature  would  not  allow  of  comfort. 
She  was  devoured  with  regret  and  consumed  by 
revenge  ;  she  spent  the  last  two  years  of  her  stormy 
life  in  fretting  and  fuming  over  the  disasters  of  her 
family.  Her  whole  appearance  and  her  manner 
changed.  No  longer  lovely,  as  when  she  stepped  on 
England's  inhospitable  shore,  she  became  shrunk, 
aged,  and  pallid.  The  ravenings  of  her  spirit  had 
indeed  transformed  her  into  the  "grim  grey  wolf  of 
Anjou."  She  became  leprous  and  hideous — "  the 


MARGUERITE  D'ANJOU  305 

most  hideous  Princess  in  Europe,"  one  might  write. 
Gently  but  firmly  she  had  to  be  restrained,  lest  she 
should  do  herself  some  harm  and  injure  others. 
Alas !  Margaret  of  Anjou  came  to  her  death,  not  in 
the  halo  of  sanctity,  but  in  the  mist  of  mental 
obscurity,  and  thus  she  died  alone — perhaps  un- 
lamented,  and  certainly  misjudged  by  posterity. 
Near  her  end  languor  and  paralysis  seized  her,  and 
she  passed  away  unconsciously  on  August  25,  1482. 

Above  the  chief  portal  of  his  castle  De  la  Vignolles 
put  up  this  epitaph  : 

"  In  the  year  1480  Margaret  of  Anjou  and  Queen 
of  England,  daughter  of  Rene,  King  of  Naples,  Sicily, 
and  Jerusalem,  forced  to  abandon  her  kingdom  after 
having  courageously  borne  herself  in  a  great  number 
of  encounters  and  in  twelve  pitched  battles,  deprived 
of  the  rights  of  her  family,  spoiled  of  all  her  posses- 
sions, without  means  of  support  and  without  help, 
found  a  resting-place  in  this  manoir,  the  home  of 
Fran9ois  de  la  Vignolles,  an  old  and  faithful  servant 
of  her  father.  She  died  here  August  25,  1482,  aged 
no  more  than  fifty-three  years.  Upon  whose  soul 
may  Christ  Jesus  have  pity." 

All  that  remained  of  this  remarkable  woman  was 
interred  without  ceremony  in  the  Cathedral  of 
Angers.  She  was  laid,  it  was  said,  by  her  father's 
side,  but  no  inscription,  no  mark  of  any  kind,  records 
the  fact.  No  one  knows  exactly  where  to  bow  the 
head  in  reverence  and  bend  the  knee  in  homage  to  the 
memory  of  Great  Queen  Margaret.  In  a  very  few 
words,  however,  are  summed  up  in  the  "  Paston 
Letters,"  No.  275,  the  character  of  Margaret 
d' Anjou  :  "  The  Queen  is  a  grete  and  stronge 
laborid  woman,  for  she  spareth  noo  peyne  to  save 
hir  things." 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL "  THE  LADY  OF  THE  CREST  " 

I. 

THERE  are  roses  at  Christmas  as  well  as  at  mid- 
summer, and  although  the  pale  single  blossoms  of  the 
winter  festival  have  not  the  fragrance  of  the  floral 
queens  of  the  month  of  Mary,  they  are  roses  all  the 
same.  All  roses,  though,  have  thorns,  or  their  petals 
are  crinkled  and  their  leaves  torn.  In  the  Temple 
Gardens,  as  the  story  goes,  once  on  a  time  two  rival 
warriors  met,  and  plucked,  one  a  white,  and  one  a  red, 
rose  from  the  bushes.  They  stuck  them  in  their 
caps,  and  so  carried  them  to  battle,  fierce  and  long — 
the  deadly  Wars  of  the  Roses.  The  story  of  the 
rose  heroine  of  those  troubled  scenes,  the  intrepid 
Queen  Margaret,  we  have  learnt ;  now  we  must  read 
the  narrative  of  another  Queen  of  Roses,  La  Demoi- 
selle Jehanne  de  Laval,  and  of  her  nigh  fifty -years- 
old  bridegroom,  le  bon  Roy  Rene,  a  Christmas  rose. 

"  May  and  December  "  we  call  such  nuptials.  But 
never  mind.  The  monarch  and  the  maid  went  very 
well  together,  and  for  them  literally  came  true,  "Roses, 
roses,  all  the  way."  He  the  great  red  standard  rose 
of  Provence,  she  the  nestling,  creeping,  sweet  wild- 
rose  of  Laval,  mingled  their  renown  and  charm  for 
the  pleasure  of  all  ages. 

306 


JEHANNE   DE    LAVAL 

From  a  Painting  by  King  Rene,  finished  by  Nicholas  de  Froment  (1475-76) 
at  Aix  Cathedral 


To  face  page  306 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  307 

Jehanne,  or  Jeanne,  de  Laval,  "a  very  beautiful 
woman  and  superbly  dressed  " — this  is  a  succinct  and 
alluring  description  of  one  of  the  most  fascinating 
beauties,  as  lovely  in  mind  as  in  body,  be  it  said, 
who  ever  took  her  gracious  path  across  the  pages  of 
sentimental  biography.  Born  at  the  Castle  of  Auray, 
— of  which  now  not  a  stone  is  standing, — in  Brittany, 
overlooking  the  tempestuous  Atlantic  and  the  Druid 
fable-land  of  Carnac-Locmariaker,  on  November  10, 
1433,  Jehanne  was  the  fifth  child  of  Guy  XIII., 
Count  of  Laval,  and  his  wife,  Isabelle  de  Bretagne, 
whose  father  was  Jean  VI.,  Duke  of  Brittany, 
and  mother  Princess  Joanna  of  France,  sister  of 
Charles  VII.  The  House  of  Laval  was  very  famous 
in  the  annals  of  mediaeval  France,  and  linked  by 
auspicious  marriages  to  all  the  Sovereign  Princes  of 
the  land.  The  first  Count  was  a  Baron  of  Charle- 
magne— a  "  Guy,"  the  unalterable  prenominate  of  all 
the  line.  Their  castle  was  founded  by  that  King  of 
romance  and  chivalry,  King  Arthur,  and  each  succeed- 
ing occupant  made  good  his  claim  to  the  gilded  spurs 
of  knighthood  either  on  a  stricken  field  or  in  a 
crusade  to  Palestine  ;  they  were  war-lords  all.  Laval 
was  their  principal  stronghold,  midway  between 
Kennes  and  Le  Mans,  where  the  machicolated 
donjon  of  the  Seigneurs  of  La  Tre"mouille,  upon  its 
isolated  rock,  dominates  the  smiling  countryside. 

The  full  title  of  the  lordly  Guys  was  Counts  of 
Laval,  Vitre,  Gaure,  and  Montfort — all  in  Brittany. 
Count  Guy  XIII.  had  ten  children  by  his  consort 
Isabelle  :  Guy,  who  succeeded  him  as  Guy  XIV.  ; 
Pierre,  Duke  and  Archbishop  of  Reims  ;  Yolande, 
sponsored  by  Queen  Yolande  of  Sicily-Anjou,  and 
twice  married,  last  to  Charles  of  Anjou,  King  Rene's 


308    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

brother  ;  Fran9oise,  who  only  survived  her  birth 
fourteen  days  ;  Jehanne,  or  Jeanne  ;  Anne,  died  in 
infancy  ;  Artuse,  who  died  unmarried  at  Marseilles 
in  1467  ;  Helene,  wife  of  Jehan  de  Malestroit,  son  of 
the  Bishop  of  Nantes  by  his  mistress,  Isabel  Kaer  ; 
and  Louise,  who  married  Edward,  Count  of  Pen- 
thievre.  Guy  XIII.,  inconsolable  for  the  loss  of  the 
mother  of  his  children,  sought  comfort  in  another 
matrimonial  venture,  and  for  his  second  wife  took 
Frangoise,  daughter  of  Jacques  de  Dinan,  Seigneur 
of  Chateaubriant  and  Grand  Butler  at  the  Court  of 
King  Charles  VI.  She  bore  him  three  children, — 
Pierre,  Fra^ois,  and  Jacques, — so  Jehanne  was  a 
member  of  a  large  and,  we  may  presume,  a  happy 
family.  Little  Jehanne  was  baptized  in  the  Audience 
Hall  of  the  Castle  of  Auray  by  Amaury  de  la  Motte, 
Bishop  of  Vannes. 

There  is  rarely  very  much  to  record  of  the  early 
years  of  any  girl's  life,  and  Jehanne  de  Laval  was  no 
exception.  A  maiden  was  only  made  conspicuous  by 
an  early  betrothal,  and  for  that  her  parents  worked 
assiduously.  Jehanne  was  an  exception  to  the  rule 
of  precocious  marriages,  for  no  one  appears  to  have 
claimed  her  hand  and  heart  until  she  was  past  her 
majority,  and  suitors  probably  regarded  her  as  a 
negligible  quantity.  Jehanne,  however,  was  not 
wanting  in  her  entree  upon  the  world  of  men  and 
manners,  and  we  make  her  acquaintance  when  not 
more  than  fourteen  years  of  age,  as  she  comes  forward 
curvetting  upon  a  blanche  haguene'c  at  a  royal 
tournament. 

This  was  King  Rene's  Anjou  tournament,  famous, 
with  those  in  Lorraine  and  Provence,  as  the  most 
brilliant  ever  seen  in  France.  The  "  Lists"  in  the 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  309 

Anjou  tournament  were  held  in  turn  at  Angers, 
Chinon,  and  Saumur,  and  it  was  at  the  latter  gather- 
ing of  chivalry,  in  1446,  that  every  knight  and  squire, 
every  dame  and  damsel,  turned  in  amazement  as  they 
beheld  "  a  very  young  girl  of  most  graceful  shape 
and  bearing,  covered  with  a  thin  veil,  and  wearing 
silken  garments  sparkling  with  precious  stones,  riding 
most  easily  up  to  the  tribune  of  honour."  The 
colours  of  her  habit  were  blue  and  white — blue,  as 
tender  as  her  eyes  ;  white,  fair  as  her  skin.  The 
reins  and  crupper  of  her  palfrey  were  decked  with 
ribbons,  blue  and  white,  and  he  bore  nodding  feathers 
upon  his  head-piece.  At  each  side  walked  her 
brothers  Guy  and  Pierre,  decked,  too,  in  Laval 
colours,  the  most  good-looking  and  best  dressed  of 
all  the  pages,  holding  the  horse's  snaffle.  By  way  of 
suite  there  rode  behind  Jehanne  de  Laval, — for  such 
was  the  beauteous  maiden's  name, — four  maids  of 
honour,  each  one  a  comely  feature  of  a  picture 
pageant.  Amid  exclamations  of  admiration  and 
most  pleasant  greetings,  the  charming  cavalcade  de- 
scribed the  circuit  of  the  festival  ground,  and  then  its 
"  Queen  "  leaped  lightly  to  her  feet,  and,  advancing 
to  the  royal  stand,  made  curtsies  to  the  Queens  of 
Sicily  and  France,  and  to  Charles  and  Rene",  their 
royal  consorts. 

Young  knights  and  old  came  flocking  round  the 
"  Fairy  Queen/'  and  she,  naive  and  winsome,  cast 
furtive  glances  here  and  there,  until  her  bonnie  blue 
eyes  fastened  themselves  upon  the  young  Count  of 
Nevers,  and  he  delightedly  stepped  forth  to  cavalier 
her  to  her  seat  amid  the  throng  of  beauty  and  fair 
fame  upon  the  ladies'  seats  of  honour.  He  was  still 
a  parti  in  spite  of  his  rejection  as  suitor  for  the  hand 


of  Princess  Margaret,  and  his  handsome  looks  and 
gallant  bearing  stood  him  in  good  stead  where 
amorous  maidens  forgathered.  King  Rene, — ever 
susceptible  to  female  charms,  both  of  mind  and  body, 
— did  not  behold  the  fair  Demoiselle  de  Laval  un- 
moved ;  he  had  a  tender  spot  in  his  great  loving 
heart  for  any  attractive  damsel ;  what  healthy- 
minded  man  has  not  ?  He  could  not  know  that  that 
pretty,  clever  hand,  which  so  skilfully  managed  her 
curvetting  cob,  would  one  day  take  his  in  hers  for 
better,  and  not  for  worse  ! 

The  coming  of  young  Jehanne  de  Laval  to  the 
tournament  at  Saumur  provided  the  sensation  of  the 
day's  exploits.  The  highest  honour,  which  the 
assembled  knights  before  the  encounters  in  the 
"  Lists  "  began  could  confer,  was  hers  by  universal 
acclamation.  She  was  to  be  the  lady  bearer  of  the 
champion's  crest,  and,  as  "  Queen  of  Queens,"  to 
affix  the  coveted  guerdon  of  victory  upon  the  helm 
of  the  most  successful  knight.  This  election  was 
preceded  by  a  characteristic  observance,  true  to  the 
pure  spirit  of  chivalry.  Each  knight  had  to  kneel 
before  an  altar  for  the  blessing  of  his  weapons,  and 
for  the  mental  registration  of  his  suffrage  for  the 
"  Queen."  She  was  "  the  lady  of  his  thought."  So, 
certainly,  the  beauteous  apparition  of  the  young 
daughter  of  Guy  de  Laval  caused  many  a  misgiving 
in  the  hearts  of  gallant  men.  The  "  Lady  "  each  had 
chosen  none  divulged  by  name,  but,  all  the  same, 
Cupid  had  done  so  to  the  ears  of  curious  friends 
and  foes.  The  wholesale  desertion  of  their  chosen 
divinities  might  very  well  account  for  hard  looks  and 
frowns  from  emulous  maidens  : — all  we  know,  is  not 
gold  that  glitters  1 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  311 

The  precious  gage  d' amour  et  de  guerre,  the 
champion's  crest,  took  the  form  of  a  small  gold 
crown,  heavily  jewelled,  from  which  sprang,  retained 
by  wires  of  gold,  three  pure  white  curled  feathers  of 
the  crested  heron.  It  was  awarded  to  the  knight 
whose  bearing  in  the  "  Lists "  had  been  the  most 
gallant,  and  whose  victories  over  adversaries  had 
been  most  effective,  and  who  had  thereby  gained  the 
unanimous  votes  of  the  tournament  judges.  Other 
prizes  there  were  of  scarcely  less  distinction  :  the 
first,  a  golden  lance  in  miniature,  to  the  knight  who  ad- 
ministered the  most  brilliant  blow  and  in  the  shortest 
time  ;  the  second,  a  rich  ruby  valued  at  1,000  ecus 
d'or, — for  mounting  in  his  helm, — for  the  breaker  of 
the  most  lances ;  and  the  third,  a  pure  diamond  of  a 
similar  value,  for  him  who  lasted  out  the  longest 
before  being  vanquished  by  his  opponent's  lance. 

The  "  Bringing  in  the  Champion's  Crest"  was  a 
remarkably  pretty  ceremony.  The  "  Queen  of 
Beauty,"  attended  by  two  maids  of  honour,  all  clad 
in  full  state  robes,  with  towering  hennins,  and  wear- 
ing superb  jewels  and  ornaments,  were  escorted  to  a 
chamber  of  preparation,  within  the  castle,  imme- 
diately before  the  closing  banquet  of  the  tournament. 
There  a  procession  was  marshalled  ;  pages  of  the 
contestant  knights,  arrayed  in  their  proper  colours 
and  wearing  ermine  mantles,  danced  gaily  before  the 
"  Queen  of  Beauty,"  and  knelt  as  she  advanced, 
bearing  the  flashing  crest  upon  an  embroidered  scarf. 
Pursuivants,  heralds,  and  kings-of-arms,  swelled  the 
glittering  progress  with  tabards,  wands,  and  crowns. 
Masters  of  the  ceremony  were  in  attendance  on  the 
"  Queen."  All  moved  with  grace  and  dignity  to  the 
banqueting-hall,  which  they  traversed  up  to  the  royal 


312     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

dais,  accompanied  by  attendants  bearing  great  flaring 
torches  and  waxen  candles.  Everybody  rose  at  the 
entry  of  the  procession,  and  the  Prince  of  highest 
rank  handed  the  "  Queen  "  to  her  special  seat,  whence 
she  might  receive  the  homage  of  the  knightly  com- 
pany, and  bestow  upon  the  champion  the  crest  she 
bore.  Strident  music  and  the  blare  of  brazen  horns 
filled  the  great  hall,  and  the  high-pitched  roof  re- 
echoed the  plaudits  of  the  company. 

The  "  Grand  Prix "  was  gained  neither  by  King 
Rene  nor  by  King  Charles.  The  former,  indeed,  caused 
a  sensation  by  appearing  in  black  tournament 
armour,  his  shield  studded  with  silver  spangles  ;  his 
lance  was  black,  and  his  charger  caparisoned  in  a 
black  housing,  which  trailed  the  ground.  Rene"  was 
mourning  still  for  his  good  mother,  Queen  Yolande, 
and  for  his  second  son  of  promise  rare,  Louis, 
Marquis  of  Pont-a-Mousson.  The  "  Champion  of 
Champions  "  was  not  the  Count  of  Nevers, — perhaps 
to  Jehanne's  regret, — but  Louis  de  Beauvau  ;  whilst 
the  second  prize  fell  to  Robert  de  Florigny,  and  the 
third  to  Ferri  de  Vaudemont.  These  famous  tourna- 
ments did  not  lack  the  assistance  by  illustration  of 
painters  ;  Jehanot  le  Flament, — better  known  nowa- 
days as  Jan  van  Eyck, — King  Rene"s  master  at 
Bar-le-Duc,  was  in  attendance  on  his  royal  pupil, 
and  painted  at  least  two  considerable  pictures  of  the 
pageants.  Alas  !  those  valuable  paintings  are  lost 
to  us. 

Well,  the  "  Lists "  were  over,  and  the  world 
and  his  wife  resumed  their  usual  avocations,  and 
Jehanne  de  Laval  went  home  once  more  with  her 
parents,  to  finish  her  education  and  to  be  pro- 
vided with  a  husband.  And  now  the  chroniclers 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  313 

of  such  events  as  matrimony  fail  us.  Very  well  we 
might  have  expected  the  announcement  of  the  "  Fairy 
Queen's  "  betrothal  immediately  after  that  famous 
tournament.  But  no — and  in  vain  we  search  for  the 
reason.  Jehanne  was  not  espoused.  Some  have 
said  that  Count  Guy,  seeing  King  Renews  unconcealed 
admiration  for  his  captivating  little  daughter,  and 
bearing  to  his  beloved  companion  in  peace  and  war 
well-worn  confidence,  conceived  a  romantic  dream. 
Queen  Isabelle  was  said  to  be  very  delicate.  She 
might  die  young,  and  then  Jehanne  might  be  Rene's 
solace  and  his  love  !  Whether  the  King  and  the 
maiden  met  again  and  often  we  do  not  know.  Very 
likely  indeed  they  did,  for  Jehanne  and  Margaret 
d'Anjou  were  playmates,  and  Laval  was  not  so  very 
far  from  Angers.  This  is  a  dream,  of  course. 

There  is  a  touching  story  which  connects  Jehanne 
de  Laval  with  another  Margaret — Margaret  of  Scot- 
land, the  virtuous  and  accomplished  spouse  of  Louis 
the  Dauphin,  and  a  great  favourite  with  King  Charles 
and  Queen  Marie.  The  unhappy  Princess  died  of 
poison  at  Sarry-le-Chateau  on  August  16,  1445 — 
poison  administered,  it  was  understood,  by  her  un- 
scrupulous husband.  She  was  only  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  but  had  been  Dauphiness  for  eight 
years — years  of  neglect  and  cruelty.  Among  the 
suite  which  gathered  around  the  bonnie  Scottish 
Princess  were  young  girls,  and  of  these  one  was 
Jehanne  de  Laval,  of  whom  Margaret  made  a  special 
pet,  and  shared  with  her  her  meals  and  leisure. 
Some  candies  were  given  to  the  children  by  the 
Princess,  who  rejected  them  as  tasting  bitter.  Mar- 
garet, to  allay  their  mistrust,  ate  a  number,  and  she 
sickened  and  died.  Her  last  words  were  :  "  A  curse 


314    REN£  D^ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

on  life !  Don't  trouble  me  about  it,"  This  lamen- 
table cry  was  drawn  from  her  through  the  false 
aspersions  on  her  honour  raked  up  against  her 
by  her  husband.  Marriage  was  indeed  a  failure  to 
Margaret  of  Scotland,  for  "  there  was  no  one  she 
dreaded,"  says  de  Commines,  "  like  my  lord  the 
Dauphin." 

The  next  scene  wherein  Jehanne  de  Laval  is 
recorded  to  have  been  a  participant  was  the  obse- 
quies of  Queen  Isabelle  of  Sicily- Anjou  and  Naples. 
We  may,  however,  be  quite  certain  that  she  was  not 
absent  very  far  what  time  that  excellent  Princess  was 
in  Angers  attending  to  the  education  of  her  family. 
They  were  all  of  near  age  to  the  daughter  of  Count 
Guy.  Yolande  d' Anjou  was  five  years  her  senior, 
and  Margaret  no  more  than  four.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
King  Rene,  anyhow,  was  not  very  much  in  Anjou  ; 
his  brain  and  hands  were  full  of  warlike  things,  and 
embarrassed  by  lack  of  means. 

Ren6  d' Anjou,  King  and  Duke,  the  preux  chevalier 
of  all  the  beautiful  women  in  his  dominions,  did  not 
fail  to  excite  feelings  of  admiration  and  of  a  profounder 
passion  in  the  pulsating  hearts  of  the  amorous  women 
and  girls  of  Genoa.  There  he  was  received  with 
acclamations  by  warrior  men,  and  with  kisses  by 
their  wives  and  sweethearts.  A  foreign  Prince, 
especially  if  he  had  gained  renown  in  love  and  war, 
was  always  welcomed  enthusiastically  by  the  strong- 
blooded  Ligurians.  The  customary  characteristic 
offering  of  the  city, — a  maiden  or  two  of  high  birth, — 
was  at  the  King's  disposal.  Their  names,  alas  !  have 
not  been  recorded,  but  Rene"  showed  his  appreciation 
of  his  host's  magnificent  and  patriarchal  hospitality 
by  despatching,  on  November  10,  1447,  four  splendid 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  315 

collars  of  beaten  gold,  with  medallions  of  himself,  to 
Tommaso  Spinola,  Giacomo  Fiesco,  Tommaso  Fregoso, 
and  Francesco  Doria,  fathers  of  his  innamorate.  The 
historians  of  Genoa  all  wrote  sententiously  of  the 
royal  visitor  :  "  Every  woman,  even  the  poorest,  put 
on  a  new  guise, — pure  white  raiment, — in  compliment 
to  the  Holy  Maid's  lieutenant,  and  all  wore  ornaments 
of  pure  gold  in  token  of  their  love  for  her,  and  for  him 
their  favour.  Tournament,  dance,  and  song,  made 
the  city  a  rare  paradise  of  joy."  The  daughters  of 
Genoa, — true  daughters  of  Eve, — ever  evoked  the 
encomiums  of  all,  as  the  following  quaint  quintet,  in 
perhaps  dubious  parlance,  affirms  : 

"  Le  Donne  son  Santi  in  Chiesa, 
Angele  in  Istrada, 
Diavole  in  Casa, 
Civette  alia  Finestra, 
Gassi  alia  Porta."* 

On  Monday, March  5,1453,  when  the  Queen's  burial 
casket  was  borne  under  its  silken  canopy  through  the 
streets  of  Angers,  twenty  fair  daughters  of  Anjou 
and  the  adjoining  States  strewed  white  flowers  in 
the  way.  Their  leader  was  Jehanne  de  Laval,  now 
grown  to  womanhood,  fresh  and  sweet.  She  had 
loved  the  lamented  Queen,  and  learned  much  from 
her  gentle  ways  and  her  heroism,  and  she  grieved  for 
the  bereavement  of  King  Rene  and  his  children. 
Companions  in  love  and  comrades  in  sorrow  cling 
equally  to  one  another,  and  those  who  rejoice  together 
in  the  sunshine  compassionate  each  other  in  the  shade. 
Pity  is  the  tender  veil  of  Cupid's  favours. 

*  "  Women  are  Saints  in  Church, 
Angels  in  the  Street, 
Devils  at  Home, 
Owls  in  the  Window, 
Magpies  at  the  Door." 


316     REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 


II. 

King  Rent's  grief  at  the  untimely  death  of  his 
devoted  spouse  completely  unstrung  the  man  and 
disabled  the  monarch.  He  gave  himself  away  to 
tears  and  melancholy,  from  which  even  the  embraces 
of  his  children  failed  to  rouse  him.  His  Ministers 
and  courtiers  viewed  the  desolation  of  their  Sovereign 
with  sincere  and  deep  concern,  for  it  threatened  to 
unnerve  him  permanently  for  the  arduous  duties  of 
his  station.  A  consultation  was  held  at  Angers  by 
the  Barons  and  nobles  of  Anjou,  Maine,  Lorraine, 
Barrois,  and  Provence,  with  respect  to  their  beloved 
Sovereign's  prostration,  and  a  unanimous  decision  was 
reached — a  second  marriage  with  a  young  consort, 
comely,  cultivated,  and  of  good  fame.  A  petition 
was  presented  to  the  King  praying  him  to  yield  to  the 
advice  of  his  "  right  loyal  lieges,"  that  he  should  look 
out  for  some  noble  and  virtuous  "pucelle  qui  fust  d  son 
gre"  They  add  :  "  We  have  found  just  such  une  tres 
belle  fille  nomme'e  Jehanne  de  Laval, — wise,  well- 
conditioned,  and  of  adult  age, — and  we  know  that  she 
is  ready  to  become  the  spouse  of  our  very  good  lord." 

The  sorrowful  King  took  heart  of  grace,  acceded 
to  his  subjects'  agreeable  suggestion,  and,  knowing 
well  himself  all  young  Jehanne's  charms,  despatched 
forthwith  a  gallant  embassy  to  his  old  friend,  Count 
Guy,  demanding  the  hand  of  his  beauteous  daughter. 
Only  one  bar  appeared  to  stop  the  course  of  true 
love, — for  such  Rene's  was  for  Jehanne, — the  disparity 
of  age  :  he  was  forty-seven,  she  twenty-two.  This 
was  soon  dismissed,  and  "  May  "  and  "  December " 
were  betrothed  in  the  August  month  of  ripe  red  gold. 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  317 

Articles  of  marriage  were  signed  at  Angers  on  Sep- 
tember 3,  1455 — by  Seigneur  de  Couldray,  Captain  of 
the  Guard  ;  Guy  de  Laval ;  Louis  de  Beauvau  ;  the 
Counts  of  Vendome  and  Tancarville  ;  the  Seigneur  de 
Lohere  ;  Raoul  de  Bosket  ;  and  Olivier  de  Feschal — 
whereby  the  bride's  dot  was  fixed  at  40,000  ecus  d'or 
(circa  £2,000).  The  marriage  ceremony  was  cele- 
brated at  the  abbey  church  of  St.  Nicholas  d' Angers 
on  September  1 6  by  Cardinal  de  Foix,  Archbishop  of 
Aries,  in  the  presence  of  Bishops  and  deputations 
from  every  part  of  King  Rene's  dominions.  The 
wedding  ceremony  was  notable  for  the  appearance  of 
the  bride's  young  brother  Pierre,  a  boy  of  eleven 
years  of  age,  habited  in  full  episcopal  vestments.  He 
was  nominal  Archbishop  of  Reims  and  Bishop  of 
St.  Brieux  and  St.  Malo. 

The  citizens  of  Angers  received  their  new  Queen 
"  en  grant  joye  et  lyesse"  but,  notwithstanding  the 
general  satisfaction,  the  Court  became  grave  and 
serious,  and,  to  universal  astonishment,  there  were 
neither  tournaments  for  the  nobles  nor  junketings  for 
the  poorer  people.  The  heart  of  the  King  was  still 
sore  ;  he  seemed  disinclined  for  festivities,  and  sought 
solitude  and  devotional  exercises ;  his  spirit  was 
acharne — sad  within  him.  "  Had  he,"  people  asked, 
"  renounced  the  pleasures  he  so  loved  for  ever  ?" 
Rene  found  relief  from  the  tension  of  his  feelings  in 
the  composition  of  a  moral  allegory  which  he  entitled 
"Le  Mortefiement  de  Vaine  Plaisance,"  which  he  dedi- 
cated to  his  confessor,  Jean  Bernard,  Bishop  of  Tours. 
It  is  by  way  of  being  a  dialogue  between  a  soul 
devoured  by  love  divine  and  a  heart  full  of  earthly 
vanities.  Other  dramatis  persona  are  introduced  at 
intervals  :  "  Fear  of  God  ;"  "  Divine  Justice  ;" 


318    RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

"  Faith,"  "  Hope,"  and  "Sovereign  Love,"  with  "  True 
Contrition."  Midway  in  the  lengthy  poem  is  a  "  sim- 
ilitude," accompanied  by  a  very  beautiful  drawing, 
showing  a  Queen, — perhaps  Isabelle, — seated  open- 
bosomed  in  a  country  waggon,  bareheaded,  her  crown 
upon  her  knees.  The  two  horses  are  tandem-harnessed, 
the  wheeler  bestridden  by  a  rider  with  a  thong  in  hand, 
the  leader  turning  sharply  round.  Thus  did  Rene's 
poetic  imagination  picture  his  loss  and  his  woe.  The 
dedication  is  most  touching  :  "  Considering  that  the 
course  of  life  runs  like  a  river,  without  stopping  or 
running  back,  it  is  necessary  to  do  good  deeds  to  earn 
a  sweet  repose.  I  set  myself  to  write  this  book  for  the 
love  of  the  Redeemer,  but,  that  my  work  may  be  useful 
for  all,  I  tell  in  plain  speech  the  conflict  of  the  soul  and 
heart." 

The  royal  couple  left  Angers  immediately  after 
their  marriage,  and  spent  the  month's  honeymoon  at 
the  Castle  of  Launay  les  Saumur.  Then  they  set 
off  for  Provence,  and  reached  Aries  early  in  Novem- 
ber. This  was  the  prelude  to  an  entirely  new  course 
of  life  which  King  Rene  had  in  his  mind.  For  thirty 
years  and  more  he  had  courted  the  smiles  of  Fortune 
in  the  arena  of  arms,  and  she  had  only  given  him 
frowns.  His  courage  and  his  chivalry  had  met  with 
scant  success.  Hopes  disappointed  and  finances 
wasted,  he  was  a  wiser  if  a  poorer  man  ;  but  now  the 
residue  of  his  days  and  enterprises  should  be  dif- 
ferently expended.  Peace  has  its  triumphs  as  well 
as  war.  Poets  and  writers,  troubadours  and  musi- 
cians, artists  and  craftsmen,  farmers  and  sportsmen, 
and  peasants  and  fishermen,  were  peaceful  folk ;  with 
such  would  he  throw  in  his  lot — a  roi-patron,  a  roi- 
faineant,  would  he  be  ! 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  319 

The  journey  to  the  south  was,  as  usual,  by  river 
barge  up  the  winding  sylvan  Loire  to  Roanne,  and 
thence  &  portage  to  Valence,  and  on  by  water  past 
Montelimart,  Orange,  and  Avignon.  The  King,  like 
other  rulers  in  France,  maintained  a  fleet  of  vessels  for 
trade  and  pleasure  upon  the  splendid  waterways.  It 
was,  of  course,  a  royal  progress  such  as  Rene  and 
his  father  and  brother,  and  Queen  Yolande,  his 
venerated  mother,  had  often  made,  and  very  cordial 
were  the  greetings  by  the  way.  At  Aries,  where 
the  King  and  Queen  were  rapturously  received,  they 
found  awaiting  them  deputations  from  every  consider- 
able place  in  Provence,  each  bearing  goodly  offerings 
to  their  liege  lord  and  lady.  Aries  presented  400 
ecus  d'or  in  two  enamelled  gold  flasks,  and  six  chased 
cups  of  silver ;  Aix,  two  great  bowls  of  silver  em- 
bossed and  jewelled,  six  silver  cups,  and  three  goblets 
of  gold  ;  Marseilles,  200  ecus  d'or,  to  be  spent  in 
buying  fine  wax,  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Queen, — a 
treasured  possession, — and  four  silver  cups  ;  Avignon, 
twelve  enamelled  silver  cups  and  two  gold  goblets  ; 
Tarascon,  a  great  gold  ewer  and  six  small  goblets — 
and  so  on.  Formalities  completed  and  Te  Deum 
sung,  Rene"  and  Jehanne  went  off  to  Aix,  there  to 
settle  and  to  arrange  their  household  affairs.  In 
recognition  of  this  auspicious  visit  to  Provence,  the 
King  created  his  consort  Countess  of  Les  Baux,  with 
proprietary  rights  in  that  ancient  stronghold. 

The  ancient  family  had  become  extinct  in  the 
comely  person  of  Countess  Alix,  a  helpless  girl 
placed  under  the  guardianship  of  her  uncle,  Robert 
de  Beaufort,  better  known  as  "  Le  Fle'au  de  Pro- 
vence," the  leader  of  a  band  of  ruffians  designated 
"  Les  Tards-  Venus"  Fair  Alix  died  unmarried  in 

21 


1426,  and  the  county  of  Les  Baux  passed  to 
Louis  III.  d'Anjou,  King  Rene's  brother.  For 
Jehanne  de  Laval  her  loving  spouse  repaired  and 
decorated  the  ruinous  old  castle.  The  pleasure- 
grounds  were  laid  out  by  Rene,  and  the  "  Pavilion 
de  la  Royne  Jehanne  "  erected,  a  true  "  Pavilion 
d'Amour,"  wherein  he  and  she  could  repose  and 
utter  sweet  nothings  to  one  another,  and  revive  also 
some  of  the  fascinating  observances  of  the  once 
famous  "  Court  of  Love  "  of  Les  Baux.  Spirits  of 
former  Countess  -  Presidents  of  Chapters  of  the 
Troubadours  flitted  to  and  fro  the  "  Chamber  of  the 
Rose."  The  beauteous  if  fateful  sisters,  Etiennette 
and  Douce,  gracious  spouses  of  two  fierce  rival 
Counts,  Raymond  des  Baux  and  Berenger  de  Barce- 
lona, but  rivals  in  the  poems  and  dances  of  the 
troubadours,  away  in  the  twelfth  century,  looked  down, 
perhaps,  from  the  eerie  thrones  in  "  II  Paradiso " 
upon  the  new  Queen  of  Beauty.  The  girlish  figure, 
too,  of  Cecile  des  Baux,  "  La  Passe  Rose,"  the  fairest 
beauty  of  them  all,  sought,  a  century  later,  the 
spiritual  companionship  of  Alix,  the  last  of  the 
chatelaines,  with  her  to  observe  the  graceful  figure  of 
Queen  Jehanne.  Memories  of  lovely  women  and  the 
romances  of  their  lives  appealed  irresistibly  to  the 
royal  troubadour ;  he  could  picture  the  gay  crowds 
in  the  games  of  Love.  Dark  deeds,  too — the  clash 
of  weapons  and  the  stealthy  poniard  ;  the  smothered 
cries  from  the  oubliettes,  and  the  defiant  oaths  of  men 
in  irons  :  these  the  imaginative  poet-monarch  could 
most  easily  re-create.  A  thought-moving  memento 
of  a  vivid  and  lurid  past  was  brought  to  light  not 
so  many  years  ago  in  a  coffin  discovered  in  the  crypt 
of  the  ruined  church  of  St.  Catherine — it  was  a 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL 

woman's  long  soft  golden  hair  cut  off  at  the  roots. 
To  whom  did  this  cabelladuro  d'or  belong  ?  Some 
beauty  done  to  death,  perhaps,  or  peacefully  fallen 
upon  sleep  in  the  dim,  dim  past  ?  Or  was  it,  as  it 
may  have  been,  the  chevelure  of  that  beautiful  young 
Italian  girl  in  the  suite  of  Queen  Jehanne,  who 
married  at  Les  Baux  the  Queen's  Seneschal,  and  died 
or  ever  that  day's  curfew  sounded  ?  The  "  Pavilion 
de  la  Royne  Jehanne"  with  its  miniature  dome 
and  delicate  frieze,  supported  on  Ionic  columns, 
still  stands,  but  hidden  away  amid  cornstalks  and 
verdure,  whilst,  alas  !  nothing  whatever  remains  of 
the  Queen's  gardens,  where  courtier  cavaliers  flirted 
and  toyed  withher  Maids  of  Honour.  Jehanne  loved 
Les  Baux  almost  as  much  as  she  did  her  Laval 
barony  of  Beaufort,  and  Rene"  loved  it,  too,  for 
her  sake. 

Early  in  the  springtide  which  followed  the  settle- 
ment of  the  King  and  Queen  in  Provence,  they 
sought  the  peaceful  charms  of  the  country-side,  and 
made  their  way,  accompanied  by  a  very  limited  suite, 
to  the  neighbourhood  of  Tarascon.  The  stately 
castle,  so  lately  Rene's  favourite  abode,  had  little 
attraction  for  ruralizing  royalty,  so  they  packed 
themselves  into  a  modest  bastide,  or  farmstead,  upon 
the  kingly  estate,  Pertuis,  not  far  from  Cadenet, 
below  Mont  Luberon.  Its  position  was  delightful, 
overlooking  the  turbulent  river  Durance,  with  its 
strewn  verdure-grown  rocks  and  boulders,  and  its 
banks  lined  by  sedges,  willows,  and  alders,  hiding 
many  a  still  pool  of  trout.  There  the  royal  couple 
wandered  forth  hand  in  hand,  quite  unattended,  amid 
the  growing  vines  and  chestnut  woods,  conversing 
with  all  the  country-folk  they  met,  sharing  with 


322    RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

them  their  homely  fare,  and  watching  delightedly 
their  rural  games  and  dances.  Many  a  time  Rene, 
with  Jehanne  as  his  happy  assessor,  sat  upon  old 
saules,  or  willow  stumps,  under  a  spreading  tree,  to 
receive  requests  and  discern  disputes,  dispensing  royal 
justice  with  the  simple  hand  of  equity. 

The  life  they  led  was  an  ideal  one — a  dream,  an 
inspiring  fantasy.  The  songs  of  birds,  the  brush  of 
wings  of  butterflies,  the  thousand  and  one  mysterious 
sounds  of  animated,  sun-cheered  Nature,  and  the 
scent  of  spring  narcissi,  with  the  glowing  glories  of 
anemones,  seemed  all  to  be  in  harmony  with  the 
fresh  greenery  of  tree  and  crop,  the  gambols  of  young 
lambs,  and  the  cooing  of  sweetheart  doves.  The 
King  and  Queen  became  for  the  nonce  shepherd 
and  shepherdess ;  Jehanne  was  nymph  of  the 
bosquets,  Rene*  her  impassioned  Apollo,  his  heart's 
wounds  healed  at  last,  his  soul's  new  hopes  at  bud. 
The  Muse  of  Poetry  dwelt  also  in  that  pleasant 
fairy-land,  and  her  voice,  rustling  the  zephyr-moved 
foliage,  reached  the  poetic  nature  of  the  agrestical 
King,  and  out  of  his  sympathetic  brain  came  the 
impulse  of  the  hand  which  penned  one  of  the  most 
delicate  and  affecting  "  Pastorals "  that  ever  man 
produced. 

The  scene  is  laid  in  the  meadows  of  the  royal 
country  house,  where  shepherds  and  shepherdesses 
and  toilers  in  the  soil, — vigorous  and  fair, — are 
giving  themselves  away  to  the  joys  of  pastoral  revels. 
Chancing  that  way  is  a  pilgrim,  newly  come  from 
recording  his  vows  at  the  shrine  of  N6tre  Dame  de 
Larghet.  Looking  ahead,  the  penitent  beholds  the 
entrancing  vision,  and,  whilst  he  brushes  away  the 
assiduous  attentions  of  a  big  bumble-bee,  he  is  con- 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  323 

scious  of  voices  murmuring  close  at  hand.  It  is  but 
the  love-chat  of  a  lovelorn  lad  and  lass,  seated  by  a 
dripping  fountain  of  the  rivulet.  Behind  them  is  the 
stump  of  a  great  forest  king  with  no  more  than  one 
lean  branch  to  show  its  life.  The  youth  vanishes 
mysteriously,  but  the  girl  beckons  caressingly  to  the 
wandering  pilgrim,  and  she  invites  him  with  dulcet 
voice  : 

"Begnatdt,  men  environ 
De  la  souche ;  et  nous  asseon, 
Gy  toy  et  moy !"  * 

The  shy  wanderer  approaches  diffidently,  and  then 
the  maiden  opens  her  little  luncheon  basket,  which 
hangs  from  her  shoulders  by  blue  silken  ribbons,  and 
eats  a  portion  of  a  roll ;  to  him  she  offers  the 
remainder.  The  fascination  of  the  moment  overrides 
all  scruples,  and  Regnault,  as  she  has  called  him, 
kneels  at  his  enchantress's  feet,  strokes  her  hands  and 
arms,  and  protests  his  love.  The  damsel  is  willy- 
nilly,  and  naively  cries :  "  All  fall  in  love,  and  all 
fall  out ;  and  so  may  you,  fair  sir,  for  aught  I  know  !" 
Carried  away  by  the  vehemence  of  his  passion, 
Regnault  tries  to  seize  the  girl  and  press  his  hot 
lips  upon  hers,  so  coral  pink ;  but  she  evades  him, 
slips  from  his  grasp,  and,  presto  !  she  has  vanished. 
All  dazy-wazy  Regnault  rises,  holds  out  his  hands 
beseechingly,  and  then,  folding  them  upon  his  breast, 
with  bowed  head  he  seeks  once  more  the  mountain 
shrine,  and  before  our  sweet  Lady  of  Consolation 
pours  out  his  heart  and  his  soul.  Compline  still  finds 
him  saying  his  Aves,  and  Night  covers  him  with  her 

*  "  Regnault,  come  thee  near 
This  tree ;  have  no  fear, 
Only  thee  and  me !" 


324    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

restful  shroud  ;  his  last  words  are  addressed  to  his 
meadow  nymph  : 

"  Tamer  ay  trh  parfaiclment, 
Du  bon  du  Cuer  si  loyaument, 
Que  ne  te  fauldray  nulkment 
Jusques  a  mart" * 

This  very  beautiful  poem  the  royal  lover  entitled 
"  Regnault  et  Jehanneton"  or  " Les  Amours  du  Ber- 
geron et  de  la  Bergeronne" — a  play,  of  course,  upon  his 
own  name  and  Queen  Jehanne's.  At  the  end  of  the 
manuscript  Rene  drew  a  very  pretty  design — side  by 
side  two  shields  of  arms,  his  and  Jehanne's,  united  by 
a  royal  crown  ;  his  supporter,  on  the  left,  une  souche, 
— the  stump  of  a  forest  tree, — with  one  flourishing 
foliaged  branch  bearing  a  censer  of  burning  incense  ; 
her  supporter,  on  the  right,  a  chestnut-tree  in  full 
flower,  and  on  a  branch  two  royal  paroquets — love- 
birds ! 

In  1457  the  poet-King  put  forth  an  allegory  of 
chivalry  which  he  called  "  La  Conqueste  de  Doulce 
Mercy  par  le  Cuer  d' Amour  espris."  The  conceit  of 
the  story  is  just  a  simple  knight,  —  youthful, 
vigorous,  and  a  true  lover  of  women, — setting  forth 
for  the  devotion  he  holds  for  his  mistress  to  endure 
perilous  adventures.  Rene  himself  is,  of  course,  the 
hero  of  the  poem,  the  intrepid  soldier  of  Naples,  the 
heroic  prisoner  of  Bulgneville. 

The  opening  of  the  poem  reveals  "  le  Bon  Roy  "  one 
night  wakeful,  and  suffering  heartache — "  Mortie 
dormant  en  resverie."  It  appeared  to  him  that  his 

*  "  I  love  thee  perfectly, 

From  bottom  of  my  heart ; 

I  will  never  fail  thee 

Till  death  us  two  shall  part." 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  325 

heart  left  his  breast,  and  that  "  Vif  Desire"  whispered 

gently  : 

"Si,  Doulce  Mercy, 
Desires  de  povoir  avoir, 
II  fault  que  tu  faces  devoir 
Par  la  force  d'armes  I'acquerir."  * 

"  Vif  Desire "  then  armed  "  Cuer "  with  a  blade 
of  steel,  keen  and  bright,  a  helmet  stamped  with 
amorous  thoughts  bearing  the  crest  of  hope,  three 
blooms  of  "  N'oubliez  mye"  Then  led  gently  forth, 
he  meets  "  Franc  Vouloir"  tall  and  strong,  and 
fully  armed  for  all  emergencies  ;  and  putting  spurs  to 
his  charger,  he  goes  off  at  a  gallop  with  his  com- 
panions. Over  hill  and  dale  they  dash,  until  they 
come  in  view  of  a  lovely  damsel — 

"plaiesante  et  blonde 
Et  de  tous  biens  la  plus  parfaict  du  monde." 

After  passing  through  a  weird  forest,  they  emerge 
upon  a  smiling  valley,  where  they  behold  a  sumptuous 
palace.  On  approaching,  they  see  a  very  splendid 
column  of  jasper,  and  after  dismounting  they  read 
the  inscription  carved  thereon  : 

"  A  vous,  tous  Cuers  gentHz  et  gradeux, 
Qui  conqudrir  voulez  pour  valori  mieulx 
Du  Dieu  a" Amour  et  de  vos  Dames  aussi 
Doulce  grace  el  eureuse  mercy. 
N'ayez  en  vous  changement  de  pensee 
Pour  delaissier  vos  premieres  amours, 
Soiez  loyaux  sans  varier  tousjours, 
Pitie  pur  vous  ne  sera  par  laste." 

Whilst  pondering  over  this  epithet,  a  very  beautiful 
woman  approaches  them,  splendidly  attired  in  royal 

*  "  If,  True  Chivalry, 

Thou  wouldst  have  power, 
Then  thy  metal  try 
And  by  arms  acquire." 


326    RENti  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

robes,  and  seizes  hold  of  the  reins  of  "  Franc 
Vouloir's  "  steed.  "  Cuer  "  at  once  turns  to  her,  and, 
kneeling,  kisses  her  hand  and  asks  her  name. 
"Douce  Esperance"  she  replies,  "and  I  greet  you, 
worthy  gentlemen,  and  desire  to  set  you  on  your 
way.  Directed  by  this  gracious  lady,  they  reach  the 
shores  of  a  great  lake  or  sea,  and,  moored  by  the 
water's  edge,  they  espy  a  little  sailing  vessel,  and  in 
it  two  lovely  maidens — "Fiance"  and  " Actente" — 
about  whom  "  Douce  Esperance "  had  spoken. 
Leaving  their  mounts  to  wander  free,  the  travellers 
board  the  frail  craft,  and,  presto  !  they  are  at  the 
glorious  temple  of  the  Isle  of  Love.  The  day  passes 
dillydally  ;  they  all  sup  together,  and  the  sweet,  soft- 
shadows  hide  their  repose.  Other  characters  are 
"Bel  Accueil"  "Franchise"  "  Piete"  "Faux  Sem- 
blant,"  and  "  Largesse  ";  and  the  allegory  ends,  as  all 
should  do,  in  the  complete  victory  of  Cupid. 

The  year  that  Louis  XL,  by  his  greed  and 
treachery,  drove  his  noble  uncle,  "  le  Bon  Roy  Rene" 
out  of  Anjou  was  one  of  trial  and  embarrassment  for 
the  King  of  Sicily.  At  first  his  feelings,  outraged 
by  the  infamous  behaviour  of  the  son  of  his  best- 
loved  sister,  Queen  Marie,  got  the  better  of  his 
equanimity,  and  he  gave  way  to  indignant  protests  ; 
but  when  a  man  is  in  his  sixties  he  learns  to  put  up 
with  base  affronts.  Rene  learned  by  sad  experience 
to  measure  hypocrites  by  their  professions,  but  to 
leave  their  castigation  to  posterity.  He  accepted 
philosophically,  adverse  circumstances  as  they  arose 
and  not  only  checked  the  expression  of  his  own  senti- 
ments, but  discouraged  reprisals  on  the  part  of  his 
impatient  and  indignant  subjects.  With  this  same 
restraint  the  poet- King  put  forth  a  sententious 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  327 

drama,  which  he  entitled  "  L'Abuze  en  Court  ";  we 
may  translate  it,  perhaps,  "  The  Victim  of  Circum- 
stances." Its  theme  may  be  gauged  as  follows : 
Within  the  shady  portal  of  an  ancient  church, — the 
pavement  strewn  with  the  persons  of  the  blind  and 
crippled  seeking  alms, — a  pious  wayfarer  beheld  an 
oldish  man  whose  silken  though  shabby  attire  spoke 
of  better  days.  His  doublet  was  torn  and  his  long 
poniard  broken,  his  light  brown  hair  streaked  with 
silver  strands,  and  his  pouch  poorly  furnished.  The 
wayfarer  speaks  kindly  to  the  victim  of  Providence  : 

"  Mon  gentil  homme,  Dieu  vous  garde, 
Et  vous  doint  ce  que  deseriez. 
Pardonnez  moi,  je  vous  en  prie, 
Et  me  dictez  par  courtousie 
De  vostre  vie  le  renom 
Que  vous  estez  et  vostre  nom."  * 

L'Abuze  politely  replies  : 

"  Sire  /  pourquoi  le  demandez 
C'est  raison  que  je  vous  le  dye. 
J'ay  nom  sans  que  riens  en  mesdye 
Le  pouvre  homme  abuzt  en  court" 

Then  he  goes  on  to  tell  his  story — the  story  of  his 
life's  adversity,  a  biograph  of  Rene's.  In  happy  days, 
now  past,  he  had  his  amours  and  his  ambitions,  his 
military  exploits  and  his  acts  of  peace.  Much  of  his 
time  he  had  spent  unselfishly  caring  for  others,  whose 
weal  depleted  his  purse  and  embarrassed  his  affairs 
until  he  was  forced  to  settle  with  his  creditors.  The 
narrative  is  worked  out  in  dialogue  by  the  con- 

*  ' '  My  good  fellow,  God  protect  you, 

And  grant  you  all  that  now  you  desire. 
Forgive  me  fully,  now  I  pray  you, 
And  tell  me  something  of  your  despair. 
By  your  courtesy  I  would  your  name, 
And  your  life's  story  and  deeds  of  fame.' 


328    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

course  of  many  speakers — among  them  a  great  lady, 
"  La  Court " — Providence,  and  two  demoiselles  of  pity 
— "Abuz" — Wantoncy,  and  "Folcuideo" — Mockery. 

The  mise  en  scene  varies  as  the  tension,  and  the 
vicissitudes  of  human  life  are  presented  under  every 
aspect.  The  poem  is  a  "  morality,"  as  that  term  was 
erstwhile  understood. 

The  end  of  the  whole  matter  is  summed  up  charac- 
teristically as  follows  : 

"  J 'ay  pascience ! 
Et  pour  vostre  paine  et  salaire 
Y-a-t-il  aulcun  qw  y  pense  ? 
Pour  a  voz  layers  satisfaire 
Que  avez  vous  ? 

J'ay  pascience  /"  * 

Rene  and  Jehanne  went  to  Provence  in  1473  in 
the  guise  of  fugitives.  The  Angevines  deplored 
excessively  this  exile  ;  they  loved  both  King  and 
Queen,  and  Louis  and  all  his  works  they  hated 
cordially.  Rene  saw  no  other  course  to  follow.  He 
was  heavily  cast  down  by  family  afflictions.  Jean, 
his  noble  eldest  son,  was  dead ;  dead,  too,  were 
Charles  d'Anjou,  his  brother,  and  Nicholas,  his  dear 
grandson,  and  Ferri  de  Vauddmont.  He  sought 
peace  and  consolation,  and  Provence  and  the  Pro- 
vengaux  offered  both  most  loyally. 

The  story  of  Louis's  perfidy  may  be  shortly  told. 
In  1474  Rene  proclaimed  Charles  de  Maine,  his 
nephew,  his  heir  to  Anjou-Provence,  regardless  of 
the  French  King's  presumptions.  Louis  summoned 

*  "  Patience  is  mine ! 
For  your  ailing  and  for  your  health, 
Is  there  anything  for  which  you  pine 
Openly  to  gain,  or  by  your  stealth, 
What  would  you  ? 

Patience  is  mine !" 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  329 

his  uncle  to  Paris  to  answer  before  the  Parliament. 
Something  of  a  compromise  was  come  to,  for  Louis 
said  he  should  be  content  for  Charles  to  be  pro- 
claimed Duke  and  Count,  but  after  him  he  or  his 
heirs  would  annex  both  duchy  and  county  to  France. 

It  had  always  been  the  policy  of  Sovereigns  to 
encourage  knight-errantry  and  tournaments,  for  the 
competitors  who  assembled  became  lieges  of  the  lord. 
The  names  and  performances  of  candidates  were 
inscribed  on  parchment  rolls  with  gold  and  enamels  ; 
these  were  read  out  aloud  by  tabarded  heralds.  The 
champions  were  escorted  in  pageants  to  be  decorated 
by  the  Queen  or  Lady  President  of  the  "  Lists  " — a 
graduation,  so  to  speak,  in  a  world- wide  University  of 
chivalry.  In  1453  Duke  Philippe  of  Burgundy 
instituted  a  very  singular  festival,  "  The  Pageant  of 
the  Pheasant,"  in  which  knights  were  made  to  swear 
for  Church  and  fame.  The  oath  ran  as  follows : 
"I  N.  swear  before  God,  my  Creator,  in  the  first 
place ;  the  ever-glorious  Mary,  His  mother  ;  and, 
lastly,  before  these  ladies  of  the  tournament  and  the 
Pheasant,  to  be  a  true  and  Christian  knight."  The 
Pheasant  was  the  emblem  of  fecundity,  the  mascot  of 
would-be  brides  and  mothers  ! 

Troubadours  and  "  Courts  of  Love  "  were  comple- 
ments of  warlike  deeds  on  stricken  field  or  in  tilting- 
joust.  The  Provencal  seigneurs  and  their  ladies  lived 
in  lonely  castles,  with  nothing  on  earth  to  do. 
Provence  was  the  cradle  of  the  troubadours.  Every 
troubadour  had  to  choose  the  lady  of  his  passion ;  she 
might  return  it  or  not,  as  she  chose.  It  was  Guil- 
laume  de  Poitou,  a  very  famous  troubadour,  who  gave 
the  maxim  :  "If  you  propose  a  game  of  love,  I  am 
not  too  foolish  to  refuse,  but  I  shall  choose  the  side 


330    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

that  is  the  best."  All  this  appealed  to  King  Rene", 
and  his  bent  fell  in  distinctly  with  that  of  the  famous 
troubadours  of  the  past.  His  poetic  and  sentimental 
nature  found  reflective  expression  in  the  old  "  Magali" 
of  the  popular  melodies  of  Provence  : 

"  0  Magali  ma  tant  amado, 
Mete  la  tete  au  fenestroun, 
Esecuto  un  pan  aguesto  subado 
De  Tambourine,  de  Fiouloun 
Esplein  estello  paramount, 
L'Auro  os  tournado 
Mattes  estello  paliran 
Quand  te  verraut." 

This  was  the  spirit  of  the  life  to  which  King  Rene 
introduced  his  young  and  beauteous  consort  —  a 
romantic  existence  which  appealed  forcibly  to  the 
sweet  instincts  of  the  royal  bride.  Her  response 
was  the  joy  of  Rene's  heart ;  if  denied  the  fruit  of 
sexual  love,  he  and  she  were  productive  of  the  issue 
of  kindred  souls.  They  lived  for  one  another  in  an 
elysium  of  bliss,  chaste  and  unalloyed,  with  no 
qualms  of  conscience  and  no  aftermath  of  reproach. 

Rene's  love  of  Jehanne  became  a  passion ;  her 
freshness  and  animation  and  the  evenness  of  her  dis- 
position were  to  him  like  so  many  springs  of  invigora- 
ting water,  whence,  quaffing,  he  ever  rose  to  new 
activities.  She  became  the  inspirer  of  his  poetry,  the 
spur  in  his  official  duties,  and  the  pivot  of  his 
benevolence.  He  was  never  tired  of  extolling  her 
virtues  in  prose  and  verse,  nor  of  painting  her  in 
miniature  and  in  large.  It  was  said  that  he  always 
carried  about  with  him  wherever  he  went  her  portrait, 
which  he  himself  painted  upon  a  small  oval  piece  of 
walnut  wood  let  into  a  locket  frame  of  chiselled  gold 
and  enamel.  More  than  this,  his  most  treasured 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  331 

trophy  of  the  "  Lists " — the  lance  with  which  he 
unseated  Charles  VII.  at  the  nuptial  tournament  for 
Queen  Marguerite  d'Anjou — contained  an  orifice 
wherein  he  inserted  another  likeness  of  "  la  bonne 
Jehanne."  In  the  inventory  of  his  garderobe  at 
Angers  Castle  we  read  :  "  Item,  Ung  bois  de  lance 
creux,  ou  il  y  a  dedans  un  rollet  de  parchemin, 
auquel  c'est  dedans  la  portraicture  de  la  Royne  de 
Sidle."* 

The  Comptes  de  Roi  Rene,  filling  very  many 
folios,  wherein  are  noted  household,  State,  and 
private  expenses  and  other  correlative  matters,  were 
stored  in  the  Chambre  des  Comptes  which  Rene 
caused  to  be  built  at  Angers  Castle.  A  suite  of 
apartments  facing  the  river  was  used  for  the  trans- 
action of  business  matters  and  for  the  deposit  of 
valuable  documents.  Here,  too,  was  the  King's 
council-chamber,  whilst  in  the  gardens  stretching  in 
front  along  the  river-side  were  cages  and  caves, 
wherein  were  kept  many  lions  and  strange  beasts 
the  collection  of  which  became  a  royal  hobby. 
Beyond  the  spacious  buildings  at  the  centre  of  the 
gardens  was  a  pavilion  which  Rene  used  as  a  study 
and  a  sanctum,  wherein  he  spent  much  of  his  leisure 
time  dreaming,  reading,  and  writing.  Here  he  kept 
a  register  of  artists  and  artisans,  noting  their  several 
qualifications,  their  works,  and  their  honorariums  and 
salaries.  He  had  a  sort  of  school  of  architect- 
surveyors  who,  under  his  personal  direction,  prepared 
plans  and  projections  of  all  the  works,  public  and 
private,  in  which  he  was  interested — markets,  bridges, 
fountains,  cottages,  etc. 

*  "Item,  A  hollow  lance  pole  wherein  there  is  a  roll  of  parch- 
ment upon  which  is  a  portrait  of  the  Queen  of  Sicily." 


332     RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

A  work  at  Angers  in  which  he  took  the  greatest 
interest,  and  on  which  he  lavished  large  sums  of 
money,  was  the  erection  and  decoration  of  a  chapel 
within  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Maurice,  which  he  dedi- 
cated to  the  ever-blessed  memory  of  St.  Bernardin,  his 
cherished  friend  and  confessor. 

Giovanni  della  Porta  was  born  at  Massa  di  Carrara 
at  the  close  of  1384.  He  took  the  cord  and  cowl  of 
St.  Francis  d'Assisi,  and  was  sent  with  other  brethren 
of  the  Order  to  evangelize  the  people  of  Marseilles. 
He  became  attached  to  the  household  of  King 
Louis  II.,  Rene's  father,  and  thus  an  intimacy  sprang 
up  between  the  two.  He  accompanied  Rene  on  all 
his  expeditions  to  Italy,  and  remained  in  priestly 
attendance  upon  him  when  at  home.  The  good  man 
died  of  fever  at  Aquila  in  Calabria  in  1449,  and 
Rene",  ever  grateful  to  his  mentor  and  spiritual  father, 
in  1450  prevailed  upon  Pope  Nicholas  V.  to  order 
his  canonization.  Certain  miracles  said  to  have  been 
wrought  at  his  tomb  in  Southern  Italy,  and  weird 
happenings  as  his  body  was  translated  to  Anjou, 
convinced  the  Curia  of  his  sanctity.  His  memorial 
chapel  at  Angers  was  a  sumptuous  erection,  and  in  its 
adornment  the  King  took  an  active  part,  painting  the 
glass  windows  and  the  altar  and  its  reredos.  Before 
the  resting-place  of  the  dead  saint's  corpse  Rene" 
directed  a  funeral  chamber  to  be  made,  wherein  he 
subsequently  ordered  by  his  will  that  his  heart  should 
be  deposited.  This  was  an  action  truly  characteristic 
of  "  le  bon  Roy."  He  had  so  often  unburdened  himself 
to  the  saint,  and  from  him  had  obtained  not  only 
absolution,  but  direction,  that  their  two  hearts  beat 
in  accord  in  life,  and  in  death  they  were  also  joined. 

Not  only  did  the  heart  of  Rene  rest  near  St.  Ber- 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  333 

nardin,  but  the  hearts  also, — each  in  its  golden 
casket, — of  Jehanne  and  the  valiant  and  chivalrous 
Jean  de  Calabria,  Renews  eldest  son. 

King  Ren6  and  Queen  Jehanne  were  pious  folk 
indeed.  At  Marseilles,  at  Tarascon,  and  at  Aix 
itself,  they  assisted  humbly  at  Church  festivals,  pro- 
cessions, and  pilgrimages.  The  lives  and  loves  of 
the  humble  home  at  Bethany  in  Palestine,  tran- 
shipped to  the  reverent  shores  of  tuneful  Provence, 
kindled  the  affection  and  the  reverence  of  one  and 
all.  The  feasts  of  " Les  Maries"  St.  Marthe  de 
Tarasque,  and  of  St.  Maximin,  good  Lazarus's  dis- 
ciple, were  honoured  by  enthusiastic  annual  devotions. 
No  one  tired  of  hearing  of  those  saintly  lives,  and 
no  sacrifice  was  too  great  to  show  the  heart's  de- 
votion. King  Rene"  and  his  consort's  offerings  took 
the  form  of  costly  reliquaries  in  gold,  enamels,  and 
jewels,  depositories  upon  high -altars  for  holy  relics. 
The  royal  couple  assisted  at  the  translation  of  St. 
Martha's  relics  to  Tarascon,  May  10,  1458.  In 
1461  from  Aix  went  a  splendid  casket  to  the 
collegiate  church  of  St.  George  at  Nancy,  in  pious 
memory  of  that  redoubtable  warrior  and  of  the  gentle 
Isabelle  de  Lorraine.  It  was  intended  for  the 
encasement  of  a  thigh  -  bone  of  the  Knight  of 
Cappadocia.  The  King  and  Queen  in  1473  pre- 
sented another  precious  reliquary  to  the  Church  of 
St.  Nicholas  du  Port  at  Angers,  and  with  it  they 
bestowed  upon  the  clergy  the  unique  gift  of  an  arm 
and  a  hand  of  the  saint.  Twelve  leagues  from  Aix  is 
the  curious  little  town  of  St.  Maximin,  where,  in  the 
thirteenth-century  church, — built  by  Charles  II.  of 
Naples  and  Provence,  ancestor  of  Queen  Giovanna  II., 
— are  preserved  the  sacred  bones  of  St.  Mary  Mag- 


334    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

dalen.  The  skull,  it  is  said,  has  still  a  small  fragment 
of  flesh  adhering  where  Christ  touched  her  forehead. 
Here,  too,  the  kingly  couple  bestowed  a  golden 
reliquary  for  the  saint's  right  arm  and  founded  a 
perpetual  Mass.  This  sad  saint  of  Christ,  the 
repentant  one,  ever  had  great  influence  with  Rene 
and  his  royal  consort.  Not  content  with  listening 
to  her  sweet  voice, — perhaps  an  imagination,  after 
all, — in  the  streets  of  Marseilles  (as  the  King  himself 
has  depicted),  in  a  beauteous  retreat  near  Angers 
he  fixed  a  sweet  shrine,  La  Baumette,  or  Bausome, 
near  Reculee,  where  he  founded  a  hermitage,  "  La 
Madeleine  de  St.  Baumette."  This  was  partly  in 
honour  of  "  St.  Baume,"  as  the  Magdalen,  the 
patroness  of  Provence  was  familiarly  called.  In  the 
chapel  the  King  painted  a  picture  of  St.  Bernardin 
hearing  confession — perhaps  his  own. 

If  Rene*  had  lost  the  crown  of  Naples,  another 
crown  was  shortly  laid  at  his  feet.  In  1469  the 
Grand  Council  of  Barcelona  rejected  Juan  II.  as 
King  of  Catalonia.  He  was  brother  of  Alfonso  V., 
Renews  rival  and  conqueror  in  Naples,  but  unpopular 
and  blind,  and  somewhat  unready.  His  wife,  the 
courageous  Queen  Blanche  of  Navarre,  had  taken 
his  place  in  line  of  battle,  and  was  enthusiastically 
beloved  by  the  Catalonians  ;  she  died,  unhappily,  in 
1468,  of  a  cancer  or  of  poison,  so  it  was  rumoured, 
and  with  her  died  the  love  of  Juan's  subjects.  The 
vacant  throne  was  offered  with  one  accord  to  King 
Ren6  of  Sicily- Anjou,  the  son  of  the  beloved  and 
venerated  Princess  Yolanda, — who  had  been  brought 
up  at  Barcelona, — the  only  child  of  old  King  Juan  I. 
Rene*,  in  accepting  the  graceful  tribute  to  his  dear 
mother's  claim  and  person,  placed  his  son  Jean  de 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  335 

Calabria  in  the  hands  of  the  Catalonians,  and  begged 
them, — his  own  age  being  far  advanced,  and  his  son  in 
his  prime  and  a  famous  warrior, — to  proclaim  him  in 
his  stead.  Jean  was  acclaimed  generally,  and  hastened 
to  Barcelona  to  assume  his  crown,  being  backed  by 
Louis  XL  with  a  money  subsidy  and  a  strong  force  of 
men.  The  landing  of  the  new  King  was  a  scene  of 
uproarious  rejoicing.  His  princely  qualities  appealed 
to  them,  and  his  grandmother  had  been  their  own 
Princess.  People  struggled  to  embrace  his  knees 
as  he  rode  to  the  castle  ;  they  kissed  the  harness  of 
his  charger,  and  ladies  tossed  valuable  rings  and 
jewellery  with  their  flowers  and  their  kisses  sweet. 

Alas  for  the  joys  of  nations  and  of  individuals  ! 
when  things  are  rosiest,  and  all  tend  to  good  and 
peace  and  prosperity,  there  swoops  down  the  insa- 
tiable mower  with  his  scythe,  to  garner  what  men  can 
least  well  spare.  King  Juan  III.  of  Catalonia  and 
Calabria  had  not  been  installed  in  the  kingdom  of 
his  grandmother  more  than  one  short  year,  when  he 
fell  ill  of  plague  or  poison, — the  two  fellest  foes  to 
Sovereigns  then, — and  died  at  Barcelona  on  Decem- 
ber 13,  1470.  He  had  fought  for  his  father's 
cause  and  his  own  right  nobly  in  Italy,  defeating 
Ferdinand  d'Aragon,  Alfonso's  son,  at  Sarno  in 
1460,  but,  beaten  at  Troia,  he  fled  to  Ischia. 

The  Castle  of  Beaufort  was  built  upon  a  lofty  rock 
rising  above  the  Loire,  overlooking  the  whole  of  that 
fertile  and  lovely  valley  ;  from  its  battlements  both 
Angers  and  Saumur  were  visible.  King  Rene"  pur- 
chased it  and  its  estate  in  1469  for  30,000  gold 
crowns,  and  assigned  it  as  part  of  Queen  Jehanne's 
fortune.  After  the  King's  death  and  burial,  and 
when  she  had  taken  a  sad  and  affectionate  farewell 

22 


336    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

of  her  devoted  people  in  Provence,  the  royal  widow 
settled  down  in  this  attractive  residence,  and  there 
spent  the  residue  of  her  life.  The  Comptes  contain  many 
items  for  building  materials,  decoration,  and  furniture, 
showing  King  Rene's  anxiety  to  make  his  dear  wife's 
bijou  residence  a  very  real  pleasaunce  for  her. 

Rene  indeed  was  a  master-builder,  not  merely  in 
the  way  of  a  hobby,  but  practically  and  in  many 
places.  He  studied  the  works  of  Leon  Battista 
Alberti  and  other  famous  architects,  and  entertained 
and  employed  numbers  of  Italian  sculptors.  Pietro 
da  Milano  was  one  of  these  ;  he  was  engaged  princi- 
pally in  Barrois,  and  there  added  the  duties  of 
director  of  revels  to  his  other  artistic  occupations. 
Marble  busts  of  Rene  and  Jehanne,  of  Queen 
Margaret  of  England  and  her  unhappy  son  Edward, 
Prince  of  Wales,  of  Ferri  de  Vaudemont  and  Yolande, 
with  their  young  son  Rene,  and  many  others,  found 
expression  under  Pietro's  skilful  chisel.  In  the 
"  Farce  des  Pastoureaux"  acted  at  the  Palace  of 
Bar-le-Duc  in  August,  1463,  King  Rene  provided 
costly  dresses  for  his  clever  little  namesake  grandson, 
then  twelve  years  old,  and  for  the  rest  of  the  juvenile 
cast ;  these  were  made  by  Noel  Bontault,  after 
Pietro  da  Milano's  designs.  The  King  and  his 
Court  were  then  in  residence  at  the  Castle  of  Louppy, 
which  he  had  repaired  along  with  the  castles  of 
Clermont  en  Argonne,  de  Koeurs,  and  Bonconville, 
and  where  he  received  and  comforted  his  miserable 
daughter,  the  heroic  consort  of  Henry  VI.  Queen 
Jehanne's  ministrations  to  the  forlorn  Queen  were 
tenderly  rendered  and  gratefully  received.  She  is 
credited  with  the  characteristically  graceful  acts  of 
reclothing  the  fugitive,  and  according  to  Queen 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  337 

Margaret  precedence  and  homage.  King  Rene's 
handiwork  in  all  these  enterprises  was  varied  and 
extensive.  He  painted  the  windows,  he  carved 
the  escutcheons  of  arms,  and  he  fashioned  the 
hinges  and  locks  of  the  doors.  The  Comptes 
prove  by  very  many  entries  his  royal  excellence  as  a 
craftsman  as  well  as  an  artist.  Scarcely  a  church  in 
Barrois,  Lorraine,  Anjou,  and  Provence,  but  bore 
evidence  of  the  kingly  artistry.  Perhaps  his  two 
specialities  were  glass  working  and  decorating,  and 
wool  and  silk  weaving  and  embroidery. 

One  of  the  most  admirable  works  of  the  King  and 
Queen, — for  Jehanne  was  not  only  the  amanuensis  of 
her  husband,  but  his  inspirer  also, — was  the  concep- 
tion and  the  elaboration  of  the  procession  of  the 
"  Fete  Dieu  "  and  "  Les  Jeux  de  la  Tarasque"  This 
pageant  originated  in  the  mind  of  Rene  when,  as  a 
youth,  he  witnessed  with  emotion  in  1427,  at  Bar-le- 
Duc,  " La  Mystere  de  la  Passion"  under  the  direction 
of  Conrad  Bayer,  Bishop  of  Metz.  Thirty  years  of 
war  and  travel  did  not  banish  the  impression  the 
young  Christian  warrior  gained,  and  from  time  to 
time  in  Anjou  and  elsewhere  he  composed  rondeaux, 
ballades,  and  chansons,  in  a  masque  or  mystery  which 
he  called  "  Le  Roy  Avenir."  In  1474  the  King  and 
Queen  assisted  at  Aix  at  the  first  rendition  of  "  Les 
Jeux  de  la  Fete  Dieu."  This  was  preceded  by  "  La 
Procession  du  Sacre" — the  Procession  of  the  Sacred 
Host.  All  the  clergy,  nobles,  troubadours,  pretty 
women,  and  gallant  knights,  of  Provence  assisted,  and 
all  the  trade  corporations  took  part.  Everybody  in 
the  procession  carried  upon  the  tip  of  a  white  wand 
a  piece  of  pain  beni.  Each  section  of  the  cortege 
was  a  moving  spectacle  or  pageant.  The  first  section, 


338     RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

by  acclamation,  exhibited  "  Lon  Grand  Juee  dels 
Diables  " — the  Grand  Play  of  the  Devils.  The  devils 
were  black  and  red  and  green,  and  every  youth's 
ambition  was  to  figure  as  a  Prince  of  Darkness  ; 
indeed,  in  later  times  a  young  fellow  based  his  claim 
to  be  a  devil  on  the  fact  that  his  father  and  all  his 
ancestors  had  been  devils,  so  "  cest  pourquoi  ne  le 
serrais  je  pas  /" 

To  "the  Devils"  succeeded  "the  Magi,"  "the 
Innocents  of  Bethlehem,"  "  the  Apostles,"  "  the 
Queen  of  Sheba  and  Solomon,"  and  other  tableaux 
movants  from  Scriptural  sources.  Most  amusing  were 
"  The  Play  of  the  Jews,"  represented  by  human  cats 
— a  reference  to  the  features  characteristic  of  the 
race  ;  "  Les  Chevaux  fringants,"  hobby  -  horses 
played  by  four  -  and  -  twenty  children,  dressed  as 
knights  of  the  "  Lists  ";  a  masque  of  morris-dancers. 
The  two  last  spectacles  were  lugubrious  :  "  The  Com- 
pany of  Lepers  "  and  "  The  March  of  Death." 

The  revels  filled  five  whole  days  in  and  out  of 
church,  through  and  through  the  streets  and  squares, 
and  out  into  the  open  pleasure-grounds.  Prizes  were 
awarded,  honours  bestowed,  and  profits  made,  and 
everybody  was  the  better  for  the  prodigality  of  "  le 
bon  Roy  "  and  the  graciousness  of  "  la  bonne  Royne" 

Rene"  had  been  in  early  life  remarkable  for  his 
simple  tastes  and  abstemiousness  in  food  and  drink, 
and  Queen  Isabelle  was  equally  careful  in  personal 
matters.  Their  lives  were  passed  in  strenuous  times 
when  self-denial  required  great  sacrifices  of  individual 
indulgences.  Isabelle  was  a  soldier's  wife,  Jehanne 
the  consort  of  a  statesman  when  life's  battle  had 
given  way  to  the  ease  of  peace.  Both  were  attractive 
women,  few  their  superiors,  but  Isabelle's  hand  was 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  339 

upon  the  hilt  of  the  sword  and  the  snaffle  of  the 
charger.  Jehanne's  held  the  mirror  of  fashion  and 
the  goblet  of  pleasure.  After  Rene  and  Jehanne 
had  arranged  their  domestic  settlement  in  Provence, 
at  once  their  Court  became  noted  for  its  magnificent 
hospitality.  Rene  employed  the  first  master-cook  of 
the  day,  Maestro  Guillaume  Real,  as  his  Master  of 
the  Household.  People  nicknamed  him  "  Courgon," 
as  marshal  of  the  courses  of  a  banquet,  rather  than 
"Soupqon,"  the  secret  of  each  !  The  royal  repasts  were 
arranged  as  spectacles  ;  at  the  cross  high  table  were 
placed  the  hosts  and  guests  of  honour,  and  at  tables 
down  the  hall  other  guests  were  accommodated.  The 
walls  were  hung  with  silver  and  crystal  sconces  full 
of  torches  or  tapers,  and  the  trophies  of  war  and  the 
chase  belonging  to  the  house  were  there  displayed. 
The  covers  and  the  service  were  as  rich  and  costly 
as  could  be.  Gold,  enamels,  crystals,  rare  faience, 
and  other  art  treasures,  were  used  with  lavish 
taste. 

Each  course  was  proclaimed  heraldically  by  blasts 
of  horns  and  motets  from  the  music  gallery.  The 
high  table  was  served  by  knights  and  men  of  rank, 
who  bore  the  splendid  bowls  and  dishes  upon  napery 
of  cloth  of  gold.  The  richer  viands  were  enclosed  in 
golden  caskets,  and  the  keys  offered  to  the  guests, 
who  in  turn  unlocked  them  and  took  or  refused  their 
contents.  Some  of  the  confections  have  not  their 
parallel  to-day.  One  table,  for  example,  was  made  to 
represent  a  stag-hunt,  another  a  village  revel,  one 
a  castle  with  a  moat  of  rare  vintage,  another  an 
abbey  church  with  bells  pealing  and  hidden  children 
singing.  Small  animals  and  birds,  and  actually  grow- 
ing trees  and  flowers,  were  used.  The  roast  and 


340    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

the  dessert  were  the  pieces  de  resistance ;  each  was 
carried  up  the  hall  in  gay  procession  with  much 
ceremonious  bowing,  and  guarded  by  archers  of  the 
guard  in  gorgeous  liveries.  At  the  sight  of  any  very 
splendid  and  appealing  course  the  whole  lordly 
company  were  wont  to  burst  out  into  song — a  well- 
known  and  lengthy  chanson ;  it  was  called  "  Le 
Sauve-garde  de  ma  Vie." 

Over  the  anticlimax  of  the  feast  the  kindly 
chroniclers  usually  draw  a  discreet  veil,  for  warriors 
in  the  field  were  vanquished  in  the  hall,  and  beauties 
beloved  in  the  boudoir  were  forgotten  in  the  debauch. 
We  may  suppose  rightfully,  however,  that  the 
hospitalities  of  Rene  and  Jehanne  never  caused  a 
flush  of  shame  or  a  prick  of  scorn.  They  aimed  at 
and  happily  succeeded  in  proving  that  "  il  ny  pas  au 
monde  de  royaute  comparable  au  bonheur  d'etre  aime 
d'elle,"  as  the  King  prettily  termed  it. 

For  twenty-five  years  the  simple  delights  of  a 
useful  domestic  life  were  serenely  enjoyed  by  the  happy 
King  and  Queen.  Their  spirit  of  contentedness 
hallowed  the  homes  of  their  people,  and  Provence 
became  a  paradise  of  peace.  Certainly  the  want  of 
children  caused  Jehanne  many  a  pang,  but  the 
devotion  of  a  good  husband,  one  so  accomplished,  so 
unselfish,  and  so  universally  beloved,  was  a  real 
compensation,  and  she  had  learned  the  lesson  of 
mingled  weal  and  woe.  She  found  congenial  occupa- 
tion in  furthering  the  good  intentions  of  the  King 
and  in  ministering  to  all  in  need  around  her.  She 
had,  nevertheless,  quasi-maternal  cares,  for  in  the 
palace  at  Aix  and  in  other  royal  residences  were 
several  children  and  young  people  of  both  sexes, 
besides  the  three  acknowledged  bastards  by  conven- 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  341 

tion,  who  could  lay  claim  to  royal  parentage.  Some 
of  these  are  mentioned  in  Les  Comptes  as  receiving 
alimony  and  gifts  from  Rene.  An  entry  on  July  8, 
1466,  records  the  gift  to  Demoiselle  Odille  of  a 
pelisse  of  marten  fur.  She  was  then  somewhere  about 
twenty  years  of  age,  but  had  charge  of  the  King's 
rings  and  jewellery  under  the  eye  of  Sieur  Guillaume 
de  Remerville,  the  Treasurer  of  the  Household. 
Rene  had  married  her,  in  1460,  to  Gaspare  Spinola, 
a  Genoese  attendant  in  his  train,  who  died  in  1465, 
leaving  his  child-widow  to  the  care  of  her  father. 
Another  child  is  also  named,  Helene, — "  la  petite 
Helene"  as  Rene  called  her, — an  attractive  little 
creature,  "  singing  like  a  lark  and  dancing  like  a 
gazelle,"  who  died  on  her  fifteenth  birthday,  in  the 
year  1469.  The  King  liked  to  have  her  near  him 
at  meal-times,  when  he  fondled  her  affectionately, 
"  comme  ma  vraie  fille" 

Besides  these  family  cares,  Queen  Jehanne  devoted 
much  of  her  time  to  feminine  industries.  In  the 
convents,  in  the  workshops,  in  the  fields,  were  poor 
girls  and  women  needing  assistance  and  encourage- 
ment. The  example  of  "good  Queen  Yolande  "  was 
ever  before  her  eyes,  and  she  strove  to  make  herself 
not  only  mistress  of  their  hearts,  but  of  their 
occupations.  Spinning,  weaving,  embroidering,  and 
generally  all  needlework,  found  her  an  accomplished 
executant.  She,  too,  could  use  her  brush  and  palette, 
in  miniature  and  in  large,  and  her  chisel  and  mallet 
both  in  wood  and  stone,  and  she  was  a  very  excellent 
artificer  in  gold  and  silver  work.  Her  benefactions 
were  on  the  most  liberal  and  most  catholic  scale ;  no 
good  cause  was  overlooked,  and  when  she  came  to 
make  her  will,  paragraph  after  paragraph  was  taken 


342    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

up  by  bequests  to  charitable  institutions  and  to 
cherished  needy  individuals.  If  less  devout  than 
her  sister-in-law,  Queen  Marie,  and  less  religiously 
exercised,  Queen  Jehanne  was  a  model  daughter  of 
the  Church,  and  none  recognized  this  more  com- 
pletely than  His  Holiness  the  Pope,  who  bestowed 
upon  her  the  precious  decoration  of  the  Golden 
Rose,  "  for  virtue  as  a  spouse  and  benevolence  as 
a  Queen." 

Approaching  her  jubilee, — an  anxious  period  for 
many  women, — the  good  Queen  fell  away  in  health, 
and  appeared  to  be  sickening  for  her  end.  Poison 
was  hinted  at,  but  in  all  probability  she  suffered,  not 
from  poison  designedly  administered,  but  from  the 
poison  of  the  atmosphere,  laden  time  out  of  mind, 
in  those  low-lying  lands  near  the  mouths  of  the 
Rhine,  with  the  seeds  of  disease — the  dreaded  plague 
and  black-death. 

Happily,  Jehanne  was  able,  through  her  robust 
constitution  and  abstemious  way  of  life,  to  throw  off 
the  evil  effects  of  her  malady  ;  but  no  sooner  had  she 
regained  her  accustomed  vigour  than  a  crushing  sorrow 
came  to  her — the  mortal  illness  of  her  cherished 
spouse,  King  Rene.  His  was  a  green  old  age,  with 
his  venerable  but  erect  figure  and  his  winning  if 
somewhat  melancholy  expression.  His  blue  eyes  and 
gracious  aspect  drew  forth  confidence  all  round,  and 
his  gentle  voice  and  genial  manners  excited  true 
affection.  Dressed  almost  with  monkish  severity  in 
a  great  long  coat  of  black  silk  or  velvet,  with  a  heavy 
collar  and  revers  of  brown  squirrel  fur,  and  wearing  a 
girdle  with  a  crucifix  and  beads,  his  long  white  hair 
was  capped  by  a  simple  velvet  berretta,  and  he 
displayed  neither  jewels  nor  decorations,  only  his 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  343 

Sovereign's  badge  and  chain  of  gold.  He  was  a  typical 
father  of  his  people. 

Struck  down  mysteriously  one  day  at  Mass  in  the 
Cathedral  of  Aix  by  a  stalking  epidemic, — he  had  not 
spared  himself  in  visits  of  condolence  to  the  stricken 
and  bereaved, — in  the  springtide  of  1480,  the  King 
was  borne  tenderly  to  the  palace.  No  more  tender 
nurse  could  there  be  than  his  devoted  consort.  She 
took  her  station  at  once  at  his  bedside,  and,  laying  her 
head  upon  his  pillow,  she  cheered  and  solaced  him  as 
none  other  could  ;  only  did  she  rouse  herself  for 
needful  ablutions,  for  food,  and  for  the  saying  of  the 
"  Hours "  in  the  oratory.  With  her  was  a  little 
maiden,  Rene's  grandchild  Marguerite,  thirteen  years 
of  age,  Yolande  de  Vaude'mont's  daughter,  a  great 
pet  of  Queen  Jehanne.  The  child  had  the  sweetest 
of  sweet  voices, — a  quality  very  precious  in  the 
estimation  of  the  King, — and  she  soothed  his  suffer- 
ings and  refreshed  his  weaknesses  by  childish  songs 
and  minstrelsy,  whilst  she  stroked  his  withered  hands 
and  in  them  placed  her  own. 

At  dawn  of  day,  July  1 0,  amid  the  rustling  of  the 
summer  foliage  outside  the  wide-open  windows  of  the 
palace,  came  whisperings  from  the  sick-room — soft, 
low,  and  sad  :  "  Le  bon  Roy  est  mort  /"  It  was  gently 
told  to  the  weeping  Queen  by  the  royal  physicians,  but 
her  Ladies  of  Honour  in  the  anteroom  caught  the 
ominous  news  besides.  They  stole  outside  the  heavy 
arras  and  told  the  terrible  secret  to  the  valets  and 
men-at-arms  ;  then  it  flashed  out  through  the  galleries 
and  across  the  courtyards,  and  stayed  the  janitors  of 
the  gates  as  they  prepared  to  open  them  as  usual  for 
the  new  day's  life.  "  Le  bon  Roy  est  mort  /"  soon  was 
echoed  through  the  city  streets,  and  tears  and  prot- 


344    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

estations  of  affection  and  tender  souvenirs  of  regret 
found  full  utterance.  "  Le  bon  Roy  is  mort  /"  was 
like  the  knell  of  doom.  No  one  could  realize  it  or 
prophesy. 


HI. 

No  one  has  told  us  of  Queen  Jehanne's  sorrow — 
better  so.  No  stranger  ever  shares  a  full  heart's 
loss.  Broken,  but  submissive  and  self-sustained,  her 
consort's  fortitude  in  distress  had  come  to  her  as  well ; 
she  failed  not  at  the  moment  of  her  trial.  With  her 
own  hands  she  led  the  last  offices  of  reverent  duty  to 
the  dead.  Shrouded  in  a  simple  white  linen  shift, 
but  covered  with  the  crimson  and  ermine  mantle  of 
state,  they  laid  their  deceased  Sovereign  upon  the 
canopied  bed  of  Estate,  moved  to  the  centre  of  the 
great  hall.  The  Queen  herself  had  closed  his  eyes, 
and  now  she  arranged  his  hands.  In  them  she  placed 
a  costly  ruby  cross  he  had  given  her  at  her  marriage  ; 
at  his  feet  she  laid  the  "  Livre  des  Heures"  which 
was  also  his  nuptial  gift ;  and  then  she  placed  around 
his  neck  the  Sovereign's  jewel, — there  was  no  heir  to 
wear  it,  alas  ! — and  last  of  all  she  knelt  and  sprinkled 
holy  water  on  his  corpse. 

Every  door  and  window  was  set  wide  ajar  that, 
night  or  day,  all  might  see  and  pray  and  bless.  Dusk 
fell  on  that  long,  long  day,  but  the  crowd  of  loving 
servants  and  subjects  still  surged  along  reverently  to 
pay  their  last  respects  ;  and  so  night  fell  and  passed, 
not  in  the  peaceful  hush  of  slumber,  but  with 
smothered  tread  of  painful  feet  and  the  smothered 
sob  of  woe. 

All  Aix  was  hung  in  black,  and  on  July  14  the 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  345 

streets  were  lined  by  weeping  citizens  as  the  funeral 
cortege  of  "  le  bon  Roy  "  passed  to  the  Cathedral  of 
St.  Sauveur.  The  burial  casket,  after  the  requiem 
and  Court  ceremonies,  was  placed,  not  in  a  tomb 
direct,  but  in  a  chapelle  ardente,  and  watches  of 
religious  mounted  guard  and  prayed.  Soon  the  wish 
of  their  venerated  Sovereign  was  made  public  prop- 
erty, and  then,  amid  fresh  lamentations  lest  Aix 
should  lose  his  remains,  appeals  were  made  to  Queen 
Jehanne.  She  was  deeply  affected,  but  remained 
quiet  and  resigned.  She  could  not  reverse  her 
husband's  will,  but  she  could  allow  his  body  to 
remain  awhile  where  it  was.  With  this  the  authori- 
ties had  to  be  content,  and  forthwith,  to  strengthen 
their  hold  upon  that  sacred  casket,  steps  were 
taken  to  erect  a  splendid  monument  and  tomb.  An 
embassy  was  sent  off  at  once  to  Rome  to  ask  for  a 
"  Bull "  whereby  the  late  Sovereign's  directions  as  to 
the  place  of  sepulture  might  be  laid  aside.  Aix  was 
not  so  much  jealous  of  Angers  as  she  was  devoted  to 
her  King. 

In  accordance  with  the  marital  customs  of  the 
time,  King  Rene  had  a  mistress — perhaps  more  than 
one,  but  one  at  least  whose  name  has  been  pre- 
served by  chroniclers,  Marie  de  la  Chapelle,  a  respect- 
able middle-class  woman  of  Provence.  Whether  "  de 
la  Chapelle  "  was  a  sobriquet  or  not  is  not  clear  ; 
probably  it  was  so,  and  given  her  later  on  in  life 
after  the  artist  King  had  painted  her  wearing  a 
chapelle,  or  black  velvet  hood,  in  a  diptych,  wherein 
he  faces  her,  which  he  kept  secretly  in  his  own 
studio.  It  is  said  that  she  did  not  really  love  Rene, 
but  liked  to  rule  him  and  to  direct  the  royal  house- 
hold. She  was  exigeant,  too,  for  the  legitimatizing 


346    REN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

of  the  three  children  she  bore  the  King,  whom  Rene 
had  always  duly  acknowledged  as  his.  These  were 
Jean,  "  le  Bdtard  d' Angers"  created,  after  the 
premature  death  of  Prince  Louis,  Marquis  de  Pont- 
a-Mousson  and  Seigneur  of  St.  Cannot ;  Blanche ;  and 
Madeleine.  Jean  married  Isabelle,  daughter  of  Ray- 
mond de  Glandevez,  Ambassador  to  the  Pope,  pro- 
Governor  of  Genoa,  and  Grand  Master  of  France. 
Blanche  d'Anjou  married  Bertrand  de  Beauvau, 
Seigneur  de  Precigny,  Master  of  the  Court  of  Angers 
and  Seneschal  of  Anjou.  He  was  in  1462  appointed 
President  of  Provence.  His  father  was  Seigneur  de 
Rochette.  Rene  gave  his  daughter  the  estate  of 
Mirabeau  in  Poitou,  which  he  purchased  in  1488. 
In  the  Comptes  du  Roy  Rene  is  the  record  of  a 
gift  to  Blanche  of  a  gold  mirror  worth  20  ecus  d'or, 
under  date  January  12,  1488,  and  the  same  year,  on 
March  18,  she  received  a  large  table  diamond  from 
her  father,  which  unfortunately  she  lost  when  playing 
in  a  farce  before  the  Court  on  the  following  Jour  de 
VAn.  The  precious  bauble  was  found  by  a  monk, 
Alfonso  de  la  Rocque,  Prior  of  the  monastery  of  Les 
Anges  d'Aix,  and  restored  on  payment  of  a  tun  of  red 
wine.  The  discovery  was  only  made  known,  it 
appears,  through  the  confessional  ;  the  good  friar 
had  qualms  about  not  making  known  his  find.  This 
Blanche  d'Anjou  was  educated  at  Beaucaire  by  Demoi- 
selle Collette,  a  worker  in  furs,  who  received  many 
costly  gifts  from  King  Rene.  It  has  been  sought  to 
prove  that  Marie  de  la  Chapelle  was  this  Demoiselle 
Collette.  Among  the  King's  gift  were  homely  objects, 
too.  His  Comptes,  under  April  4,  1447,  record 
"  three  Cannes  of  fine  holland  cloth  ;  two  ditto  fine 
muslin,  and  five  black  silk  velvet  for  a  head-dress." 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  347 

Another  gift  to  Blanche  d'Anjou,  on  May  16,  1447, 
was  hair  for  a  rigotter,  a  coiffure  postiche  for  which  the 
King  paid  7  florins  to  Marguerite,  wife  of  Jehan 
Augier,  at  Beaucaire.  Again  Blanche  was  the 
recipient  of  her  father's  generosity,  for  on  June  7 
the  same  year  he  gave  her  a  cincture  of  wrought 
silver  which  cost  1 1  florins. 

Before  Blanche  married  the  Seigneur  de  Precigny 
he  had  buried  three  wives,  and  he  himself  was  buried 
with  them  at  Angers  in  October,  1474.  She  died 
prematurely  in  giving  birth  to  a  child,  April  1 1 , 
1470,  no  more  than  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Made- 
leine, Rene's  second  illegitimate  daughter,  married 
Louis  Jehan,  Seigneur  de  Belleneve,  Chamberlain  to 
Charles  VIII.  of  France  when  Dauphin.  He  gave 
him  for  his  marriage  15,000  florins,  that  he  might 
"  espouse  worthily  ma  cousine"  as  he  calls  her. 
Louis  XII.  gave  her  on  her  widowhood  a  sum  of 
12,000  florins. 

On  the  death  of  King  Rene,  his  eldest  daughter, 
Yolande,  Countess  of  Vaudemont,  claimed  and  assumed 
the  title  of  Queen  of  Sicily,  Jerusalem,  Naples,  and 
Aragon,  but  took  no  steps  to  enforce  her  claim  upon 
that  vulture  monarch,  Louis  XL,  who  at  once  seized 
upon  the  lands  of  his  uncle,  and  styled  himself  Duke 
of  Anjou  and  Count  of  Provence.  Countess  Yolande 
was  her  father's  child,  tender  and  retiring.  She 
craved  the  charms  of  the  quiet  life,  and  consequently, 
at  the  convocation  of  the  Estates  of  Anjou  and 
Provence,  she  renounced  her  title,  and  made  it  over 
to  her  son  Rene.  He  had  already  taken  up  the 
gauntlet  of  his  grandfather,  and  given  proof  of  the 
sterling  qualities  of  his  ancestry.  The  duchy  of 
Lorraine  and  that  of  Bar  were  his  through  his 


348    REN£  D^ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

mother  also,  and  as  Duke  of  Lorraine  Rene  II.  is 
known  to  historians.  Countess  Yolande  died  at 
Nancy  February  21,  1483.  Rene  II.  was  the 
Prince  whom  his  father,  Ferri  de  Vaude"mont,  insisted 
should  make  a  pilgrimage  from  Vezelay, — famous  in 
the  history  of  Thomas  a  Becket, — the  capital  of  Le 
Morvan,  to  Jerusalem  with  one  foot  booted,  the  other 
bare,  and,  as  he  went,  to  distribute  to  every  poor 
person  he  met  12  livres  by  way  of  satisfaction  for 
small  sums  he  himself  had  borrowed  and  had  not  paid 
back — surely  a  wide  stretch  of  fatherly  authority  and 
the  law  of  substitution  ! 

The  widowed  Queen  lost  little  time  in  settling  her 
affairs  in  Provence,  for  she  was  minded  to  go  to 
Anjou  with  her  precious  dead  ;  indeed,  Rene  had 
expressed  a  wish  to  that  effect.  She  carefully  sur- 
veyed the  names  of  all  the  people  Rene  loved  and  of 
those  who  loved  him  most  nearly  too.  To  each  and 
all  some  token  was  sent  or  given  ;  she  spared  few 
things  for  herself.  Churches,  institutions,  schools, 
guilds,  and  all  public  bodies,  received  mementoes  of 
the  dead  monarch.  To  Jehanne  came  many  pangs  at 
parting.  She  had  learned  to  love  the  gentle  Pro- 
ven9als,  and  they  had  not  failed  to  return  her  regard 
most  warmly.  At  last  her  preparations  were  com- 
pleted, and  she  spent  a  day  and  night  in  the  cathedral 
by  the  casket  of  her  dear  dead,  and  then  sorrowfully 
she  took  her  journey  to  distant  Anjou,  home  to  her 
kith  and  kin. 

King  Rene  in  his  will  speaks  thus  of  his  beloved 
Queen  :  "  Because  Jehanne  has  loved  me,  so  I  do 
and  shall  love  her  as  my  dearest  wife  till  death.  Her 
virtues  and  her  goodness  to  me  I  cannot  forget,  nor 
her  loving  services  which  she  has  rendered  me  for  so 


RENK    D  ANJOU 

(Circa  1470) 
Painted  by  himself  on  wood.      Aix  Library 


To  face  page  348 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  349 

Jong  a  time.  I  will  that  she  shall  have  unrestricted 
liberty  of  action  to  settle,  when  I  am  dead,  where  she 
will.  ...  I  give  to  her  the  county  of  Beaufort ;  the 
castle  and  estate  of  Mirabeau  ;  the  town  of  Aubagne  ; 
the  castles  of  San  Remy,  Pertuis,  and  Les  Baux, 
with  my  bastides  in  and  about  Aix  and  at  Marseilles, 
with  all  their  furniture  and  appurtenances."  King 
Rene  also  specially  bequeathed  to  Jehanne  his  most 
valuable  jewels  :  collars  of  diamonds  ;  "  le  grand  et  le 
petit  bulay"  rubies,  with  sprays  of  gold  and  gems  ;* 
his  diamonds  "  a  la  cesse"  uncut  and  strung  (?)  ;  his 
plates  and  caskets  of  gold  ;  his  great  bowls  of  gold  ; 
his  great  trays  of  silver  ;  and  his  precious  goblet  and 
ewer  of  gold  encrusted  with  jewels  ;  and  many  other 
splendid  precious  objects. 

With  respect  to  the  body  of  King  Rene,  it  has 
been  chronicled  that  the  Queen  before  leaving  Aix 
made  secret  arrangements  for  its  translation  to 
Angers.  She  feared  a  hostile  demonstration  if  open 
measures  were  taken.  She  took  into  her  confidence 
a  priest  belonging  to  the  cathedral  chapter,  and  they 
together  worked  out  a  plan  which  was  put  into 
operation  after  Queen  Jehanne  had  arrived  at 
Angers.  She  sent  two  of  her  most  trusty  atten- 
dants, Jehan  de  Pastis  and  Jacquemain  de  Mahiers, 
with  an  imposing  suite,  conveying  a  letter  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Aix  asking  for  the  heart  of  Rene. 
The  priestly  confidant  was  at  the  service  of  the 
envoys,  and  they  very  cleverly  contrived  to  secrete 
the  casket  with  the  King's  body  in  a  royal  chariot 
which  the  Queen  had  commanded  to  be  laden  with 
certain  dresses  and  properties  she  had  left  behind,  and 

*  "  Le  grand  bulay"  was  a  famous  ruby,  richly  mounted,  which  he 
had  bought  for  18,000  florins  (  =  £7,000). 


350    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

in  particular  the  pall  she  had  worked  with  her  own 
hand,  and  which  was  still  covering  the  dead  King's 
coffin.  The  precious  burden  was  driven  to  a  secluded 
backwater  of  the  Rhone,  and  there  embarked  upon  a 
great  royal  barge  ;  and  so  King  Rene's  body  passed 
through  France  once  more,  as  he  had  so  often  done 
in  life.  The  disembarknient  of  the  royal  corpse  was 
effected  at  Ponts-de-Ce,  across  the  Loire,  a  few  miles 
out  of  Angers,  and  thence  the  second  obsequies  were 
conducted  with  splendid  ceremonies  and  amid  universal 
tokens  of  joy  and  sorrow  of  his  Angevine  subjects. 
The  heart  was  with  the  body,  but  the  entrails  were 
left  at  Aix  in  the  cathedral. 

This  was  the  last  public  appearance  of  Queen 
Jehanne.  She  retired  to  her  Castle  of  Beaufort,  and 
there  she  spent  the  residue  of  her  life,  eighteen  long 
and  solitary  years — years  never  idle,  never  self- 
indulgent,  years  loyal  to  the  fond  memory  of  her 
spouse,  years  yearning  for  reunion.  The  day  Jehanne 
entered  her  new  home  was  St.  Luke's  festival,  1481, 
the  second  summer  of  the  year,  when  the  last  grapes 
hang  ripened  upon  the  vines,  and  the  year's  vintage 
is  gathered  in.  Perhaps  the  simile  from  Nature 
enforced  itself  upon  the  widowed  Queen's  sympathetic 
mind.  Her  harvest  was  now  that  of  the  quiet  eye  ; 
its  growth  had  been  when  eye  met  eye — hers  and 
Rene's  ;  now  was  approaching  the  winter  of  her  life, 
when  her  work  was  to  be  finished  and  her  rest  full- 
garnered. 

Jehanne  chose  as  the  companions  of  her  widow- 
hood three  trusty  servitors — Rene  de  Breslay,  her 
Seneschal  ;  Thibault  de  Cosse",  her  Master  of  the 
Household ;  and  Bernard  de  Praneas,  her  Confessor. 
She  spent  her  time  in  prayer  and  charity.  She 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  351 

established  hostels  for  poor  people,  for  pilgrims  and 
the  sick  ;  schools  for  children  left  orphans,  and  for 
those  cast  upon  the  world  by  miserable  parents. 
Besides  these  pious  works,  the  good  Queen  preserved 
her  interest  in  such  arts  and  crafts  as  she  and  Rene 
had  encouraged  in  Provence.  She  studied  once  more 
books  and  sciences  he  had  loved,  she  painted 
miniatures,  composed  madrigals  and  hymns,  and  sang 
and  played  as  she  had  done  for  him,  and  her  pen 
became  that  of  the  ready  writer.  She  translated 
Guillaume  de  Guillerville's  tragedy,  "  The  Pilgrimage 
of  Human  Life ";  "  The  Soul  separated  from  the 
Body,"  a  poem  by  Jehan  Galoppez,  a  priest  of 
Angers  and  her  Private  Secretary  ;  and  a  moraliza- 
tion  upon  "  The  Certainty  of  Paradise."  All  her 
works  were,  however,  in  prose,  which,  she  said 
"  conserves  le  sens  et  les  images,  mais  deliverez  moi 
du  martelage  et  des  grimaces  de  ce  baragouin  /"  * 

Perhaps  the  action  which  most  endeared  the 
memory  of  the  good  Queen  to  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  the  people  about  her  was  the  extraordinary  pains 
she  took  to  alleviate  taxation  and  to  readjust  tribute. 
When  Rene  took  over  the  estate  in  1471,  he  made 
vast  reductions  in  the  imposts  on  land  and  stock 
and  crop.  These  were  confirmed  by  Queen  Jehanne 
ten  years  later,  and  further  reductions  were  conceded 
Her  plea  to  herself  was  :  "  Now  Rene  is  no  more,  I 
have  no  other  role  to  play  but  to  do  as  he  would  have 
wished  me."  The  Forest  of  Beaufort,  where  Rene 
and  she  had  followed  the  chase  in  princely  fashion, 
now  no  longer  echoed  the  blast  of  hunting-horns  and 

*  "Preserve  the  sense  and  the  shape,  but  protect  me  from  forced 
metaphor  and  gibberish !" 

23 


352    REN^  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

the  cracks  of  hunting-whips,  but  with  the  gentle 
notes  of  the  Angelus,  and  when  the  curfews  rang  out  in 
neighbouring  village  and  homestead,  they  carried 
with  them  the  refrain,  "  Priez  pour  la  bonne 
Jehanne." 

These  soft  nocturnes  and  sweet  visions  of  ancient 
days  still  linger  in  Anjou.  The  memory  of  the 
Queen  of  Sicily,  Jehanne,  is  cherished,  and  almost 
a  proverb  it  has  become,  that  all  good  things  done  in 
that  rich  province  are  due  to  the  watchful  spirit 
of  the  Queen.  In  this  connection  a  very  weird 
narrative  may  be  told.  In  1469  Guillaume  de 
Harancourt,  Bishop  of  Verdun,  invented  a  cage  of 
wood  and  iron  for  refractory  criminals.  One  such 
was  sent  to  Angers,  which  after  Jehanne 's  death 
became  known  as  the  "  cage  of  the  Queen  of  Sicily." 
It  was  said  that  Jehanne  had  been  put  therein 
wearing  wooden  sabots.  The  why  and  wherefore  of 
her  incarceration  was  perfectly  uncertain,  but  the 
sabots  are  to-day  in  Angers  Museum  ;  the  cage  has 
disappeared.  Another  version  has  it  that  King 
Rene  had  among  his  wild  creatures  at  Reculee  and 
elsewhere  a  very  ferocious  eagle  which  he  could  not 
tame,  and  so  the  bird  was  sent  to  Angers  and  placed 
in  the  Bishop's  wood  and  iron  cage,  and  dubbed 
"La  Reine"— "The  Queen"!  This  bird  of  prey 
deserved  the  name  ;  its  appetite  was  prodigious.  In 
Les  Comptes,  among  other  entries  referring  to 
"her  Majesty,"  is — "June  3,  1474,  'La  Reine ' 
has  a  whole  sheep  day  by  day."  This  is  quaint 
indeed,  but  characteristic  of  stories  and  story- 
tellers ! 

Queen   Jehanne  died   at  the  Castle    of  Beaufort, 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  353 

December  19,  1498, — as  the  chroniclers  tell  us, — 
"  in  the  odour  of  sanctity  and  with  all  the  consola- 
tions of  Holy  Church." 

The  Queen's  will — a  most  lengthy  document — 
contains  many  affecting  and  many  quaint  bequests. 
She  first  of  all  commends  herself  conventionally  to 
the  Almighty,  and  then  goes  on  to  indicate  her  desire 
to  be  laid  not  far  from  "  Marie  of  blessed  memory  " — 
her  consort's  grandmother,  Marie  de  Blois-Chatillon 
— "  before  the  altar  where  is  laid  my  lord  and 
consort,"  and  she  warns  all  and  sundry  against 
laying  any  other  bodies  there.  Her  heart  she 
bequeaths  to  the  Chapel  of  St.  Bernardin,  within 
the  Church  of  the  Cordeliers  at  Angers,  to  be  placed 
beside  that  of  Rene.  She  directs  that  her  body 
shall  be  covered  with  a  pall  of  black  silk,  and  that  at 
her  funeral  six  poor  religious  should  attend  habited 
in  black,  and  each  bearing  a  flaming  torch.  Her 
heart  and  Renews  should  repose  upon  a  pall  of  cloth 
of  gold  embroidered  in  crimson,  and  bearing  their 
joined  shields  of  arms.  Lights  shall  always  burn  in 
front  of  the  tomb  and  the  cardial  reliquary.  She 
instructs  her  brother  and  nephew,  Seigneurs  de  la 
Roche  and  de  Montafiland,  to  hand  over  to  the 
Chapter  of  St.  Maurice  in  Angers  200  livres 
tournois  (circa  £120)  to  pay  for  her  burial  cortege, 
and  for  Mass,  absolutions,  vespers,  and  bells.  Par- 
ticularly she  notes  her  preference  for  flags  of  bougran 
— stuff  (?) — over  silken  banners. 

The  day  after  her  interment  the  Queen  directs 
that  with  reverent  ritual  a  crown  shall  be  placed 
over  her  head  like  that  she  placed  over  Rene's,  upon 
their  monument.  Certain  saintly  relics  which  he 


354    RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

and  she  had  been  the  means  of  rescuing  from  sacrilege, 
and  had  deposited  in  the  Church  of  St.  Tugal  de 
Laval,  shall  be  displayed  gratuitously  to  "  such  dames 
comtesses  as  may  wish  to  become  mothers."  Her 
"  Breviary,"  "  Psalter,"  "  Hours,"  and  other  books 
of  devotion,  she  bequeaths  to  the  Church  of  St. 
Tugal  de  Laval,  for  the  use  of  daughters  of  her 
father's  house  at  their  marriage  or  when  residing 
in  Laval.  Two  gold  rings  she  particularly  desires 
to  be  placed  upon  the  relics  of  St.  Nicholas  d'Angers, 
within  his  reliquary  :  "  one,  my  wedding-ring,  which 
my  very  redoubtable  lord  and  consort, — whom  God 
absolve, — placed  upon  my  finger  at  our  nuptials, 
with  a  small  heart  of  diamonds  and  enamelled  with 
deep  red  roses."  The  other  ring  had  a  large  diamond 
mounted  on  a  fleur-de-lis,  and  the  band  bore  the 
enamelled  arms  of  Anjou.  Queen  Jehanne  did  not 
forget  her  friends  and  attendants ;  for  example, 
among  very  many  legacies,  she  left  200  livres  tournois 
each  to  three  ladies :  Jacqueline  de  Puy  du  Jour, 
Catherine  Beaufilz,  and  "  ma  petite "  Gindine  de 
la  Jaille,  to  provide  them  with  trousseaux  upon 
marriage. 

The  body  of  the  Queen  was  reverently  shrouded 
in  a  plain  linen  chemise,  such  as  that  with  which  she 
herself  had  assisted  to  cover  King  Rene's  corpse,  and 
over  it  was  placed  his  robe  of  state.  Hers  was  the 
last  lying  in  state  of  a  Queen  of  Sicily,  and  every 
mark  of  homage  and  respect  was  rendered  her 
remains  by  high  and  low.  Peasants  and  citizens 
conspired  together  to  show  their  grateful  sense  of 
her  virtues  and  her  benefactions,  and  the  country 
road  from  Beaufort  to  Angers  was  lined  with  sym- 


JEHANNE  DE  LAVAL  355 

pathetic  crowds  of  mourners.  Her  passing  was  in 
the  night  time, — so  consonant  with  her  love  of 
seclusion  and  simplicity, — and  the  whole  country- 
side was  ablaze  with  torches  and  bonfires.  The 
Queen's  burial  was  at  St.  Maurice's  Cathedral,  in 
the  tomb  of  her  consort ;  whilst  her  heart, — "  so  full 
of  love  and  so  tenderly  beloved," — in  a  golden  casket 
exactly  like  that  of  the  King,  was  placed  next  his  in 
the  Chapel  of  St.  Bernardin.  Upon  a  memorial 
tablet  was  inscribed  the  epitaph :  "  Here  lies  the 
Heart  of  the  very  high  and  puissant  Princess, 
Jehanne  de  Laval,  second  wife  of  King  Rend,  and 
daughter  of  Guy,  Count  de  Laval." 

The  monument  to  King  Rene",  which  she  at  last 
came  to  share  in  blessed  memory,  had  his  effigy 
reclining,  and  at  his  feet  a  sculptured  lion,  symbol 
of  courage ;  at  Jehanne's  feet  were  carved  two 
hounds,  emblematic  of  fidelity.  The  Chapel  of 
St.  Bernardin  thus  became  the  royal  mausoleum  of 
the  last  Anjou  dynasty — Rene,  with  his  father  and 
mother,  his  two  wives,  his  eldest  son,  and  his  two 
daughters,  in  holy  company  ;  and  so  they  remained 
for  300  years,  until  that  cataclysmatic  year  1793, 
when  every  holy  stone  was  tumbled  down  and  every 
reverent  memorial  defaced.  The  memorial  chapel 
was  for  centuries  a  thing  of  beauty.  King  Rene 
himself  painted  the  glass  windows  and  designed  the 
tomb.  Soon  after  his  marriage  with  Jehanne  de 
Laval  he  employed  Francesco  Laurana  and  Pietro  da 
Milano  to  decorate  the  chapel. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  King  Rene,  Sieur  Guillaume 
de  Remerville, — his  Treasurer  at  Aix, — voiced  the 
universal  sorrow  and  permanent  regret  of  all  the 


356     RENE  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

royal  servants  of  his  lord  in  a  beautiful  funeral  ode, 
which  he  dedicated  to  "  Queen  Jehanne,  his  wor- 
shipful mistress  "  : 

"  Pleurez,  petits  et  grands  1    Pleurez  I 
Car  perdu  avez  le  bon  Sire. 
Jamais  ne  le  recouverierez — 
Sa  mart  sera  grief  martyir."  * 

Such  was  the  refrain.  The  same  loving  dirge  of 
woe  was  re-echoed  through  Anjou  and  Provence 
when  Jehanne  passed  royally  to  her  burial. 

*  "  Weep  little,  weep  great,  weep  all ! 
For  we  have  lost  our  good  Lord. 
Ne'er  more  his  form  to  recall — 
Hearts  broken  by  his  mord." 


KING  RENT'S   SIGNATURE. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

AUTHORITIES    CONSULTED 

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3  vols.     Paris,  1825. 
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et  Litteraires."    A.  Lecoy  de  la  Marche.     Paris,  1875. 
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1895. 

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1869. 

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Angers,  1885. 

II.  MISCELLANEOUS. 

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1867. 

"Les  MSS.  et  les  Miniatures."     Lecoy  de  la  Marche.     Paris,  1884. 
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1653. 
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1856. 

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Paris,  1631. 
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Paris,  1884. 

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1881. 

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357 


358    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 

"Histoire  de  Provence."    J.  E.  Papon.     Aix,  1786. 

"Chroniques  de  Charles  VII."     A.  Chartier.     Paris,  1528. 

"  Memoires  Secrets  de  la  Cour  de  Charles  VII."    Madame  D(urand). 

Paris,  1735. 

"  Maison  de  Laval."     Comte  Bertrand  de  Brousillon.     Angers,  1895. 
"  La  Chorographie  de  Provence."     H.  Bouche.     1664. 
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1825. 

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"Le  Moyen  Age."     P.  La  Croix.     5  vols.     Paris,  1848. 

III.  PERIODICALS. 

" Bibliotheque  Nationale" — "Album  des  Portraits." 

"  Revue  Historique  et  Archeologique  du  Maine  et  Loire."     Vol.  vi. 

"  Revue  d'Anjou."     Vol.  xv. 

"  Revue  Historique  d Angers."    Vol.  xviii. 

"  Revue  Numismatique  dAnjou."     Vol.  i. 

"  Bulletin  Societe  Industrielle  dAngers."     Vol.  x. 

"Memoires  de  la  Societe*  Agriculturelle  dAngers."     1850,  1866, 

1872. 

"  Bulletin  Mensuel  de  la  Societe"  d'Arche"ologie  Lorraine."    Vol.  i. 
"  Dictionnaire  Biographique  de  Maine  et  Loire."     Vol.  i. 
"Documents  Historiques  de  1'Ecole  des  Chartes."     1873. 
"Recherches  Historiques  sur  1'Angers."    Vols.  i.  and  ii. 
"Recherches  Historiques  sur  le  Saumur."     Vols.  i.  and  ii. 
"  Archivio  Storico  Lombardo."     1894. 
"  Joyeuses  Histoires  de  nos  Peres."    Paris,  1891,  etc. 
"Revue  Historique  et  Archeologique  du  Maine."    Vols.  xv.  and  xvi 
"  Reunion  des  Societes  des  Beaux  Arts."     Vols.  v.  and  xxxii. 

IV.  IN  ENGLISH. 

"History  of  Louis  XL"    P.  Mathieu.     London,  1814. 

"  Romantic  Episodes  of  France."     H.  Vance.     Dublin,  1868. 

"  Old  Provence."    J.  A  Cooke.     2  vols.     London,  1905. 

"  Troubadours  and  Courts  of  Love."    J.  F.  Rowbotham.     London, 

1895. 

"Troubadours  at  Home."    J.  H.  Smith.     2  vols.     London,  1899. 
"Life   and   Times   of    Margaret    of    Anjou."     M.   A.   Bookham. 

London,  1872. 
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London,  1864. 

"Close  of  Middle  Ages."  R.  Lodge.  London,  1908. 
"Life  of  Joan  d'Arc."  Lord  Mahon.  London,  1876. 
"Paston  Letters  "(1422-1509).  4  vols.  Reprint,  1901. 


INDEX 


"  A  HENRY  !    A  HENRY  !"  296,  298 
Alagui,  Lucrezia  d',  251 
Alliance,  A  great.  262  [352 

Animals  and  birds,  Love  of,  213,  214, 
ANJOU,   Anne   of  (daughter  of  King 

Rene),  141 
,,       Blanche  of  (natural  daughter 

of  King  Louis  II.),  68 
,,       Blanche  of  (natural  daughter 

of  King  Rene),  68,  254,  267 
,,      Charles,  Duke  of  (brother   of 

King  Charles  VI.  of  France, 

the  elder  Anjou  line),  24,  25 
„      Charles  of,  Duke  of  Maine  I. 

(brother  of  King  Rene),  24, 

57,  86,  87,  92,  93,  307 
„      Charles  of,  Duke  of  Maine  II. 

(son  of  above),  57,  165,  328, 

329 

„      Foulkes-Nerra,  Count  of,  92 
„      Helene  of, "  La  Petite  "  (natural 

daughter  of  King  Rene?),  341 
„      Isabelle  of  (daughter  of  King 

Rene],  141 
„      Jean  of  (sonofKingRene),  Duke 

of   Calabria    and   Lorraine, 

King  of  Catalonia,  85, 90, 91, 

104,  108,  113,  114,  124,  127, 

134,  140,  244-254,  264,  270, 

279,  280.  291 
„      Jean  of  (natural  son  of  King 

Rene),  254 
„      Louis  I.,  King-Duke   of,    see 


„      Louis  II.,  King-Duke  of,  see 

Kings 
„      Louis  III.,  King-Duke  of,  see 

Kings 
„      Louis  de  Maine  of  (natural  son 

of  King  Louis  II.),  68 
„      Madeleine  of  (natural  daughter 

of  King  Rene),  254 
„       Margaret  of  (daughter  of  King 

Rene),  see  Queens 
„      Nicholas  of  (son  of  King  Rene), 

85,  141,  254-258,  328 
„      Odille,  of   "La   Demoiselle  " 

(natural  daughter  of  King 

Rene?).  341 

„      Rene",  King  Duke  of,  17-356 
„      Rene"  of  (son  of  King  Rene),  141 
„      Yolande    of    (sister    of   King 

Kene),  see  Brittany 
,,      Yolande  of  (daughter  of  King 

Rene"),  see  Vaude"mont 
ARCHITECTS:  Leon  Battista  Alberti, 


20.  236  ;  Francesco  Brunellesco,  20  ; 
Giovanni  Capistrani,  340  ;  Cennino 
Cennini,  20 

Armagnac,  Mahaud  d',  34,  38 
„          Three  Graces  of,  260 

Banquet,  A  sumptuous,  129,  211 
BAR,  Bonne  of,  wife  of  Nicholas  de 

,    Ligne,  34,  80 
„    Edouard  of,  34,  69 
„     Frederic,  Count  of,  32 
„    Henry  IV.,  Count  of,  32 
„     lolande  of  Flanders,  Countess  of, 

32-34 

„    Jehan  of,  34,  69 
„    Louis,  Cardinal  of,  69,  77-81, 86, 

98-103,  162,  191 
,,    Marie  of  France,  Duchess  of,  32, 

34,  49,  69,  80 

„    Robert  I.,  Duke  of,  32,  69,  78 
„    Violante  (Yolanda),  see  Queens 
Barragana,  A,  30 
Bare  breasts,  56,  186,  188,  262 
Bare  feet,  A  Duchess's,  97 
BATTLES  :  Azincourt,  34,  64,  69.  96  ; 
Arienzo,  20,  130,  131 ;  Bange1,  82  ; 
Bulgneville,  88,  109-115,  130,  192, 
238,   256  ;  Gaeta,  241  ;  Montpiloir, 
168  ;   Rocca-Secca,  219  ;    Rosebach, 
96  ;   Sarno,    335  ;   Troia  (I.),  250  ; 
Troia  (II.),  252.  335.     Wars  of  the 
Roses :    Barnet,    297 ;    Blorehea^h, 
282  ;  Hexham,  287  ;  Northampton, 
282  ;  St.  Albans,  281,  284  ;  Towton, 
285  ;  Wakefield,  280 
Beaufort,  Cardinal,  261,  262,  264,  275 
Beauty,  A  village,  83,  147  [Sorel 

"  Belles,   La    Belle    des,"   see   Agnes 
"  Better  die  right  out !"  297 
"  Bloody  Edward,"  298,  304 
Blushing  maids,  45 
Bois  Chenus,  Le,  144,  173,  190 
"Bourges,  The  little  Queen  of,"  174 
"  Bourges,  The  little   King  of,"  188, 

279 

"Box  her  ears  !"  147,  198 
Bride  burnt  to  death,  A,  88 
BRITTANY,  Arthur  de  Richemont  of, 

126,  133,  207 

„  Charles,  Duke  of,  127,  185 

„  Francis,  Duke  of,  286 

„  Francis,  Count  of  Mont- 

fort,  86 

„  Isabelle  of,  72,  88 

„  Jean  VI.,  Duke  of,  71,  88, 

116,  207,  307 


359 


860 


BRITTANY,  Yolande  of  Anjou,  Coun- 
tess of  Montfort,  86 
BURGUNDY,  Catherine  of,  62,  70,  71, 

76,  79 
„  Isabelle    of    Portugal, 

Duchess  of,  65,  126 
„  Jean,  Duke  of,  62,  70,  71, 

91,  99,  182-184 

,,  Philippe,    Duke    of,    25, 

96,  102,  108,  111,  113, 
115.  116,  120,  126,  127, 
138,  159,  163,  184,  236, 
243-254,  258-260,  288- 
290, 329 
Burlesque,  A  royal,  289 

CASTLES  :  Aix,  19,  333,  340  ;  Amboise, 
294,  295  ;  Angers,  19,  43,  44,  51, 
60,  67,  72,  169,  191,  258,  293,  295, 
309,  331  ;  Auray,  307  ;  Aversa,  227  ; 
Bar-le-Duc,  88,  103,  254,  291  ;  Bas- 
tile,  183  ;  Bauge,  82  ;  Beaufort,  335, 
350,  352  ;  Bisclin,  40  ;  Blois,  179  ; 
Bonconville,  336  ;  Bourges,  64,  165, 
181,  192,  201,  215  ;  Bourmont,  81, 
113  ;  Bracon  (Tour-de  Bar),  112, 
119,  120,  138,  192,  193,  238,  242, 
249  ;  Breaute,  196, 197  ;  Capua,  232, 
257  ;  Castel  Nuovo,  232  ;  Chatille, 
113  ;  Charmes,  113  ;  Chateaudun, 
182 ;  Chinon,  134, 154, 160, 189,  194, 
201,  214,  253,  261,  286,  309  ;  Cler- 
mont,  113,  139,  173,  259,  336  ; 
Coucy,  88,  95  ;  Dampiere,  304  ; 
dell'  Ovo,  222  ;  Dourdans,  177  ;  For- 
calquier,  76  ;  Gaeta,  245  ;  Gerona, 
46  ;  Gien,  192  ;  Harlech,  283  ; 
Koeurs,  336  ;  Kuerere,  291  ;  La 
Ferte,  81  ;  Launay-les-Sauniur,  318  ; 
Laval,  307  ;  Les  Baux,  320,  321, 
348  ;  Loches,  170,  171,  181,  199, 
201  ;  Louppy,  336  ;  Marseilles,  19, 
333  ;  Maulevrier,  196  ;  Mehun-sur- 
Yevre,  63, 184,  214  ;  Mesnil-la-Belle, 
198  ;  Middleham/292  ;  Montpellier, 
45  ;  Muro,  217  ;  Nancy,  19,  95, 106, 
109,  114,  133,  184,  149,  150,  254, 
265 ;  Nantes,  270  ;  Nesle,  177  ; 
Pertuis,  349  ;  Pierrepoint,  103  ; 
Plessis-les-Tours,  203 ;  Pont-a-Mous- 
son,  253  ;  Queniez,  304  ;  Reculee, 
19,  214,  302,  303,  334,  352  ;  Renan- 
court,  81  ;  Renne,  259  ;  Sarry-le- 
Chateau,  313  ;  Saumur,  19,  91,  136, 
185,  258,  261,  296,  309  ;  St.  Mihiel, 
101  ;  St.  Pol,  289  ;  San  Remy,  349  ; 
Talant,  110  ;  Tarascon,  19,  50, 
134,  137,  256,  258,  333 ;  Toulouse, 
44,  57  ;  Tourg,  101  ;  Tours,  201, 
203,  211  ;  Troyes,  184  ;  Val-de- 
Cassel,  34 ;  Varennes,  259  ;  Vienne, 
254 ;  Zaragoza,  31 


Cathedral,  A  magnificent,  163-168 
"Cell,  Fit  for  a,"  279 
Champion  of  champions,  265,  312 
Chapelle,  Marie  de  la,  21,  345,  346 
Chatelaines,  54,  59,  139,180,  181, 196, 

320,  329 
Chemises,  195 

Child  marriages,  94  [245,  246 

Claimants  for  a  throne,  41,  42,  62,  63, 
Coffin,  Golden  hair  in  a,  321 
"  Cornptes  de  Roy  Rene,  Les,"  28,  29, 

60,  182,  213,  266,  331,  336,  337,  346 
Conclave,  A  sacred,  157 
"  Confrererie  de  la  Passion,  La,"  256 
"  Conquete  de  la  Doulce  Mercy,  La," 

23,  324-326 

Cooking,  Art  of,  53,  211,  339 
Coronations,    Royal,    41-43,   165-168, 

237,  274,  275 

Correcte,  Friar  Thomas,  186-188 
Country  life,  Joys  of  a,  318,  321,  322, 

340 

Court,  A  frivolous,  190 
"Courts  of  Love,"  35,  37,  42,  320 
Courtiers,  see  Nobles 
Craftsmen:    Colin  d'Angers,    302; 

Juan  d'Arragona,  27  ;  Jehan  Buturt, 

60  ;  Frangois  Castargis,  267  ;  Jehan 

Ducceux,  60  ;    Julien  Guillot,   60 ; 

Henri    Henniquin,    27  ;    Jehan    le 

Gracieux,    27  ;   Jehan  de  Nicholas, 

27  ;     Guillaume    le    Pelletier,    27  ; 

Guillaume  de  la  Planchette,  266  ; 

Luigi    Rabbotino,    27  ;    Guillaume 

Real  (chef),  339  ;  Jean  Tubande,  271 
Craftswomen :    Marguerite    Chamber- 

layne,    273  ;    Demoiselle    Collette, 

346  ;  Jehanne  Despert,  27 
Cry,  A  piteous,  173 
Cupid's  ways,  87,  140,  310 
"  Curse  on  life  !  A,"  313,  314 

Dame  de  Courrages,  La,  180,  181 

Dancing  fool,  A,  251 

Dare-devils,  221-223 

Day,  An  ill-omened,  296 

Delicacies,  48,  53 

"  Devils  at  home,"  315 

Devils  and  hobby-horses,  338 

Disguise,  A  royal,  34,  47 

Divorce,  A  royal,  218,  219 

Dowries,  Royal,  49,  70,  76,  114,  127, 

196,  198,  218,  259,  317,  346,  347 
Dress,  A  reformer  of,  186-189 
Dresses,  Gorgeous,  233,  234,  266,  267, 

311 

Elopement,  A  royal,  138,  139 
EMPERORS  :    Charlemagne,  282,  307  ; 
Lothair,  95  ;  Otto  III.,  32  ;  Robert 
III.,  95  ;  Sigismund,  118,  119,  253  ; 
Wenceslas,  212 
Erotic  ascendancy,  197 


INDEX 


S61 


Farewell,  A  sad,  269 

Fashions,  48,  49,  55,  56,  67,  186,  187, 
194,  195,  202,  267 

Favourites,  Royal :  Pandolfo  Alopo, 
222,  223  ;  Sergianni  Caracciolo,  223, 
228-231,  237,  238  ;  Sforza  da  Colig- 
nola,  222,  223,  228-232  ;  Bartolom- 
nieo  Colleoni,  224  ;  Braccio  Forte- 
braccio,  229-232 

Feast  of  Folly,  37 

Fete  Dieu  at  Aix,  La,  337,  338 

Fete  des  Fous,  La,  210 

Fetes  and  sports,  see  Merrymakings 

Fierbois,  The  sword  of,  154,  160,  166 

Flagellations,  181 

Foix,  Cardinal  de,  317 

Foul  deed,  A,  298 

Foul-play,  182-184,  205,  206,  218 

Gardens  :  Lovely  Tarascon,  50  ;    Bar- 

le-Duc,    80  ;  Aversa,  234,  235  ;  Les 

Baux,  320,  321 
Garters,  Chained,  267 
"Gaya  Ciencia,  La,"  31,  36,  37,  46,  63 
Genoa,  Maiden  offering  at,  314 
Girls,   Character  of,   45  ;    tribute   of, 

128 

"Give  me  Rene  d'Anjou  !"  143 
Glee-maidens,  31,  35,  256,  274 
Glory  of  France,  Everything  for  the, 

200 

Golden  Rose,  The,  119 
"  Grey  wolf  of  Anjou,  The,"  304 
Grotto,  Voices  in  a,  235 

Hard-heads,  36 

Hairdressing,  49.  67,   148,   164,   187, 

194,  195,  202,  204,  261,   266,  267, 

268,  311 

Hair  in  a  coffin,  Golden,  321 
Harvest  of  a  quiet  eye,  350 
Heart,  A  pierced,  290 
Herring,  Only  one,  290 
Highwaymen,  33,  132 
"  Hold  your  tongue  !"  230 
Honour,  Dames  and  Maids  of,  186,  222, 

226,  234. 264 

"  Hope  of  England,  The,"  298 
Horsewoman,  A  splendid,  150,  151 
Hostages,  Royal,  113-116,  120 

Jacques  d'Arc,  143,  144,  167 

Jeanne  d'Arc,  "La  Pucelle,"  83-87, 
143-173,  189-192,  236,  253 

"Jeanne  soit  bonne,"  145 

Jehanne  de  Laval,  see  Queens 

Jehanne  the  Inspirer,  330 

Jewels,  35,  43,  49,  56,  80,  128.  196, 
202,  203,  234,  247,  266-268,  275,  276, 
289,  309,  315,  335,  346,  349,  354 

Jews,  240 

Joke,  A  royal,  61 


KINGS: 

Alfonso,    "The   Magnanimous,"    of 
Aragon-Sicily-Naples,      75,     117, 
124,  126,  128,  130,  224,  225,  227- 
235,  241-258,  280,  334 
Andrew  of  Hungary,  217,  246 
Charles  IV.,  "The  Fair,"  of  France, 

177 

Charles  V.  of  France,  82 
Charles  VI.  of  France,  40,  44,  55, 
63-65,  68,  179-181,  193,  209,  265, 
276.  308 

Charles  VII.  of  France,  63-65,  81-85, 
88,  91,  109-111,117,126,132,  154- 
199,  200-215,  236,  239,  251-254, 
260-264,  269-279,  331 
Charles  VIII.  of  France,  294,  347 
Charles  II.  of  Naples,  333 
Charles  III.  of  Naples.  216,  217,  220 
Edward   IV.   of  England,    281-286 

292-304 

Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  221,  227 
Ferdinand  I.  of  Naples,  252,  335 
Henry  IV.  of  England,  295 
Henry  V.  of  England,  56,   65,   72, 

181,  184 
Henry  VI.  of  England,  138,  260-263, 

272-304,  363 
Henry  II.  of  France,  196 
lago  II.  of  Aragon,  36 
James  III.  of  Scotland,  285,  290 
Jean  II.,  "  The  Good,"  of  France,  29, 

32,  44,  65,  67,  73,  80,  127 
Juan  I.  of  Aragon,  32-49,  334 
Juan  II.  of  Aragon-Catalonia,  334 
Juan  III.  of  Aragon-Catalonia,  see 

Jean  d'Anjou 

Ladislaus  of  Naples,  216-220      [176 

Louis  IX.  (St.  Louis)  of  France,  51, 

Louis  XI.  of  France,   85,  175,   197- 

205,  214,  232,  264,  286-296,  300- 

304,  326,  335,  347 

Louis  I.  of  Sicily-Anjou,  29,  39-44, 

58,  73,  118 

Louis  II.  of  Sicily-Anjou,  29,  39,  40- 
46,  55-67,  73,  85,  93,  99, 174-176, 
207,  217-219,  332 

Louis  III.    of  Sicily-Anjou,    57-64, 
68-76,  82-89,    117,  121,   165-169, 
185-188,  212,  225-246,  320 
Martino  of  Aragon-Sicily,    30,    42, 

62 

Rene  of  Sicily-Anjou-Naples,  17-356 
Robert  of  Naples,  217 
Philip  V.,  "The  Tall,"  of  France, 

177 

King,  A  libertine,  218 ;  meagre  fare 
ot  a,  182;  Most  Valiant  (?),  195; 
skit  on  a,  201 

Kisses,  47,  52,  75,  137,  152,  195,  201, 
208,  209,  226,  255,  257,  269,  335 


362    REN£  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 


"  L'Abuze  en  Court."  24,  327,  328 
"  Lady  of  his  thoughts,  The,"  310 
Lady  of  the  Crest,  306,  310,  311 
"  La  Fran9aise, "  275,  279,  280 
"La  Royne  Blanche,"    85,  112,   161, 

166, 173 
LAVAL,  Fra^oise  de  Dinan,  Countess 

of,  308 

„  Guy  XIII.,  Count  of,  68,  87, 
135-137,  162,  170,  307-312, 
316,  317,  355 

„       Guy  XIV.,  Count  of,  307 
,,       Isabelle  of  Brittany,  Countess 

of,  307 

,,       Jehanne  of,  see  Queens 
„       Pierre  of,  307,  309,  317 
„       Yolande  of,  307 
"Le  Bon  Roy,"    318,  321,  322,   324, 

326,  332,  338,  343 

Legends :   Notre   Dame   de   Sousterre, 
35  ;   St    Catherine   les   Baux,  320, 
321  ;  St.  Frisette   de    Reims,  164 ; 
St.    Martha    of    Bethany,   50,    51, 
333 ;  St.  Maximin  d'Aix,  333  ;  St. 
Radegunde  de  Tours,  157;  St.  Re- 
natus  d'Angers,  59,  60 
Leonora,  Fair,  225,  231-235 
"  Le  Sauve-garde  de  ma  Vie,"  340 
LES  BAUX,  Alix,  Countess  of,  319 

„  Cecile  of,  "La Passe  Rose," 

320 

Douce  of,  320 
j^tiennette  of,  320 
Jehanne  of,  319 
Raimond,  Count  of,  320 
Robert  Beaufort,  Count  of, 
"Le  Fleau  de  Provence," 
319 

" Les  Tards- Venus,"  319 
Library,  A  famous,  120 
"  Ligue  de  Quatre,  La,"  73 
Likeness  in  a  lance,  A,  331 
"  Like  Queen  Giovanna  !"  217 
Lioness  at  bay,  Like  a,  303 
LORRAINE,  Adelebert,  Duke  of,  95 
„  Charles  II.,  Duke  of,  88, 

95,  96,  98-104,  121,  143, 
148-151,  163,  171,  244, 
245 

„  Isabelle  of,  see  Queens 

„  Jehan,  Count  of,  95 

„  Margairet    of    Bavaria, 

Duchess  of,  95-100,  104, 
105,  110-115,  118,  121, 
148-153,  254  [95 

„  Marie  of,  Dame  deSoissons, 

„  Raoul,  Duke  of,  105 

„  Rene  II.,   Duke  of,    336, 

347,  348  [156 

„  The  Pride  of,  94,  98,  151, 

Love  of  all  the  boys,  257 


Love,  Courts  of :  Bar  le  Due,  35 ; 
Zaragoza,  37 ;  Barcelona,  42  ;  Les 
Baux,  320 

Love,  The  Chamber  of,  320 
Love  Lady-Day,  281,  282 
Loves  of  Louis  and  Yolanda,  46 
„        Charles  and  Agnes,  192-200 
,,        Charles    Dunois    and    Marie 

d'Anjou,  208,  209 
,,        Louis  and  Leonora,  225-235 
Love's  rosebush,  97 

"Magali,"  330 

Maiden  tribute,  316 

Maids  of  Honour,  186,  222,  226,  234, 

264 
Maignelais,  Antoinette  de,  193,  198 

,,          Catherine  de,  193 
Malady,  A  terrible,  276 
Margaret  d'Anjou,  see  Queens 
Margaret,  Truce  of,  281 
Marguerites,  268,  271,  274 
"  Mariage,  Quinze  Joyes  de,"  77 
Marriage  ring  torn  off,  219 
Martyrdom,  A  royal,  172,  173 
Matchmaking,   35,    39,  64,  65,  70-73, 

76,  86-88,   91,   127,  218,  220,  256, 

257,  259,  293,  294 
Matrimonial  pros  and  cons,  99,  100 
Matrons,  A  panel  of,  83,  157,  158,  191 
Mermaid,  A  Sicilian,  226 
"Merrie  Mol,  Une,"  289 
Merrymakings,  31,  35-37,  46,  48,  50-54, 

61,  72,  91,  104,  134,  135,  139,  234, 

256,  265,  338 

Millionaires,  Royal,  58,  62,  182,  212 
Montereau,  Derouillee  de,  206 
"Mortifiement     de    Vaine    Plaisance, 

Le,"  23,  317 
Mottoes:    "Amour   et  foy"  (Isabelle 

de  Lorraine),  142;  "Ardent  desir" 

(King    Rene},    134;    "Fides    vitat 

servata"  (King  Rene),  title-page 
Murder,  222,  223,  298,  299  [338 

Mystery  plays,  38,  52,  265,  274,  337, 

Natural  children,  30,  68,  196,  220,  227, 

252 

NOBLES  AND  COURTIERS  : 
Agout,  Raymond  d',  44,  45 
Aigle,  Jean,  Lord  de  1',  60 
Amboise,  Louis  d',  206 
Andrews,  William  (Private  Secretary 

to  Henry  VI.),  268 
Avellino,  Robert,  Count  of,  245 
Barbazan,  Armand,  109, 158,162, 168 
Baudricourt,  Robert  de,  147,  148 
Beauvais,  Pierre  de,  68 
Beauvau,     Bertrand     de,    Lord    of 

Precigny,  267,  346,  347 
Beauvau,  Louis  de,  20,  26, 137,  312, 

317 


NOBLES  (continued) : 
Beaupremont,  Pierre  de,  258 
BelleNeve,  Louis  Jehan,  Lord  of,  347 
Biege,  Pierre  de,  68 
Bre"ze,  Jacques  de,  Count  of  Maule- 

vrier,  196 

Brege,  Louis  de,  196 
Braze",  Pierre  de,  287,  288 
Breslay,  Rene"  de,  350 
Cabarus,  Vidal  di,  244 
Capua,  Andrea  di,  219 
Champchevier,  Jules,  261 
Charantais,  Jehan,  225 
Charny,  Adolphe  de,  258 
Chatel,  Tanneguy  de,  20,  182,  184 
Clifford,  Lord,  283,  284 
Ooeur,  Jacques,  182,  212 
Coetivi,  Olivier  de,  196 
Cosse,  Thibault  de,  350 
Couldray,  Lord  of,  316 
Courrages,  Lord  of,  180,  181 
Coyrant,  Yovunet,  61 
Crepi,  Jehan,  76 
Dunois,   Count   Charles   (le   Batard 

d'Orleans),  159,  161,  168,  207-211 
Escose,  Jean  d',  274 
Falstaff,  Sir  John,  261 
Fenestranger,  Jehan  de,  125 
Flavy,  Guillaume  de,  81 
Fortesque,  Sir  John,  292 
Gaudet,  Antoine  de,  258 
Gris,  Jehan  de,  180 
Harancourt,  Gerard  de,  125 
Harancourt,  Jacques  de,  125 
Renault,  Alain  le,  28 
La  Hire,  159,  161,  168,  182 
Lenoncourt,  Philippe  de,  30 
Lodal,  Giiy  de,  87 
Louvet,  Etienne,  207 
Luxembourg,  Jehan  de,  78 
Macon,  Robert  de,  83 
Mahiers,  Jacquemain  de,  349 
Maignelais,  Raoul  de,  193 
Mailly,  Hardouin  de,  186 
Mattancourt,  Jehan  de,  81 
Maulevrier,  Jacques  Odon  de,  186 
Metz,  Jehan  de,  148 
Mezieres,  Louis  de  Maine,  Lord  of,  68 
Montague,  Lord,  284 
Montelar,  Charles  di,  Baron,  244 
Moraens,  Fra^ois  de  la  Vignolles  de, 

304,  305 

Morien,  Jehan  de,  44,  45 
Oxford,  Earl  of,  293 
Fastis,  Jehan  de,  349 
Pulligny,  Hugues  de,  82 
Remeville,  Guillanrae  de,  355 
Roche,  Philippe  de  Pot,  de  la,  288 
Roches,  Guillaume  Chesal  des,  60 
Ruthen,  Lord  Guy  de,  282 
St.  Aubin,  Pierre,  Abbe  de.  60 


NOBLES  (continued) : 
Salisbury,  Earl  of,  281,  282,  284 
Sancerre,  Antoine  de  Benil,  Count  of, 

196 

Sarrebouche,  Robert  de,  78 
Serancourt,  Jehan  de,  28 
Somerset,  Duke  of,  279,281,  287,  297 
Sorel,  Jehan  de,  193 
Suffolk,  Earl  of,  132,  138,  262,  264, 

270 

Toreglia,  Giovanni  di,  251 
Toulongeon,  Antoine  de,  109,  110 
Tremouille,  Pierre  de,  158,  161,  168, 

207 

Valorey,  Barthe"lemy  de,  68 
Valorey,  Gabriel  de,  68 
Villeroquier,  Andre  de,  198 
Warwick,  Earl  of,  281-284,  292-297 
Wenlock,  Lord,  297 
Westmoreland,  Earl  of,  295 
Xantrailles,  Pothon  de,  207 
Nuptials,  Royal,  41,  48,  49,  81,  86,  87, 
91,  101,  123,  138,179,  181,204.217, 

218,  221,  256,264,  272,  273, 295,  317 

Obsequies,  Royal,  40,  41,  57,  58,  66,  67, 
68,  72,  92,  121,  122,  132.  135,  214, 

219,  241,  258,  300,  314,  315,   344, 
345,  349,  354 

Ode,  A  funeral,  356 

"Oh  fie!  Oh  fie!"  262 

Orders  :  of  the  Sturgeon,  26  ;  of  the 

Plough,    26 ;    de    la    Fidelite,   79  ; 

Toison   d'Or,  115 ;     du    Croissant, 

136  ;  Golden  Rose,  119,  342 
Oriflamme,  "  The  Maid's  "  white,  153, 

167,  169 

Pack  of  cards,  A  famous,  212 

Pageant  of  the  Peasant,  The,  329. 

Painters :  Fra  Angelico,  20 ;  Petrus 
Christus,  79  ;  Hubert  Van  Eyck,  19, 
20,  79  ;  Jan  Van  Eyck,  19,  20,  79  ; 
Jean  Focquet,  19 ;  Golan  tonio  del 
Fiore,  20  ;  Angiolo  Franco,  20  ;  Hans 
of  Antwerp,  260  ;  Fra  Filippo  Lippi, 
20  ;  Jehannot  le  Flament,  19,  312  ; 
Antonio  Solario  ("II  Zingaro  "),  20, 
242  ;  Paulo  Uocello,  20 

Pastoral,  A  royal,  322 

Payments,  Quaint,  271-273 

Peach,  Bite  a,  206 

Pilgrimage.  A  warlike,  159-161 

Plot,  A  royal,  231 

"Plucking  the  turkey,"  36 

Poison,  89,  205,  206,  218,  313,  342 

"  Polluyon, "  Ceremony  of  the,  105 

Poniard,  A  jewelled,  238  ;  a  stealthy, 
320 

POPES : 

Benedict  XIII.,  69  ;  Boniface  IX., 
219  ;  Clement  VII.,  40  ;  Eugenius 


364    REN6  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 


IV.,  125,  130,  250  ;  John  XXIIL, 

80  ;  Martin  V.,  229  ;  Nicholas  V., 

332;  Sixtus  IV.,  25 
Porta,    Giovanni  de  la  (King  Rent's 

confessor),  332 
Poverty,  Royal,  181,  182 
Presents,    Extraordinary,     273,    274 ; 

splendid,  186,  346,  347 
Preux  chevaliers,  87,  96,  236,  287,  314 
Prince,  An  ugly,  175,  176,  203 
PRINCES : 

Alen9on,  Jehan,  Count  of,  86 
Alen9on,  Charles,  Duke  of,  264,  270 
Anjou,  see  Anjou 
Aragon,  Juan  of,  221 
Aragon,  Pedro  of,  124 
Armagnac,  Henri,  Count  of,  183,  260 
Austria,    Ladislaus,    Archduke    of, 

211 

Austria,  Leopold  III.,  Duke  of,  218 
Austria,  William,  Duke  of,  218 
Baden,  James,  Marquis  of,  96,  107 
Bavaria,  Louis  of,  109,  123 
Bar,  see  Bar 

Bedford,  John,  Duke  of,  161,  169 
Berg,  Arnould,  Duke  of,  77 
Berry,  Charles,  Duke  of,  205,  206 
Bourbon,  Charles,  Duke  of,  91 
Bourbon,  Louis,  Duke  of,  62 
Bourbon,  Jacques  of,  221,  222 
Brittany,  see  Brittany 
Brunswick,  Otto  of,  217 
Burgundy,  see  Burgundy 
Castile,  Ferdinando  of,  40,  63 
Charolois,  Count  of,  289 
Clarence,  Duke  of,  295 
Foix,  Gaston  de,  Count,  211 
Gaunt,  John  of.  295 
Gravina,  Charles  Durazzo,  Count  of, 

217 
Gloucester,  Humphrey,  Duke  of,  262, 

274,  275,  277,  279 
Lorraine,  see  Lorraine 
Luxembourg,  Henri,  Count  of,  27 
Luxembourg,  John,  Duke  of,  171 
Luxembourg,  Pierre  of,  256,  259,  265 
Marche,  Robert,  Count  de  la,  259 
Milan,  Filippo  Maria  Visconti,  Duke 

of,  241,  250 
Milan,   Francesco   Sforza,   Duke  of, 

130,  250,  280 
Montfbrt,  see  Brittany 
Nevers,  Charles  of  Bruges,  259,  262, 

309,  312 

Nevers,  Philippe,  Count  of,  259 
Orange,  Louis  of,  81 
Orsini,  Raimondo  of,  219 
Savoy,  Amadeo  VIII.,  Duke  of,  211, 

238 

Taranto,  Charles  III.,  Prince  of,  176 
Tarauto,  Jehan  de  Beaux-Taranto,  176 
Taranto,  Lodovico  of,  217 


PRINCES  (continued)  : 

Venddme,  Antoine,  Duke  of,  62 
Wales,  Edward,  Prince  of,  277-279, 

282-288,  293-300 
Wtirtemberg,  Ulric  VII.,  Count  of, 

123 
York,  Edward,  Duke  of,  264,  270, 

275-280 
PRINCESSES  : 

Anjou,  Blanche  of,  68,  254,  267 
Anjou,  Margaret  of,  see  Queens 
Anjou,  Yolande  of,  Countess  of 

Montfort,  86 
Anjou,  Yolande  of,  Countess  of  Vau- 

demont,  see  Vaud&nont 
Aragon,  Juanita  of,  30,  35,  38 
Armagnac,  Isabelle  of,  260 
Austria,  Anne,  Duchess  of,  259 
Baden,   Catherine,   Marchioness  of, 

96 

Bar,  Bonne  of,  34,  80 
Bar,  Marie  of  France,  Duchess  of,  32, 

34,  49,  69,  80 

Bar,  Violante  of,  see  Queens 
Bavaria,  Elizabeth  of,  118 
Beaufort,  Juanna,  of  Ghent,  295 
Bourbon,  Anne,  Duchess  of,  289,  290 
Bourbon,  Marie  of,  see  Queens 
Brittany,  Isabelle  of,  72,  85 
Brittany,     Yolande,     Countess     of 

Montfort,  86 

Burgundy,  Catherine  of,  62, 70,  71, 76 
France,  Catherine   of  (daughter    of 

Charles  VII.),  214 
,,        Catherine  of  (natural  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  VII.),  196 
,,        Jeanne     of     (daughter     of 
Charles  VII.),  173, 211, 214 
,,        Jeanne  of  (natural  daughter 

of  Charles  VII.),  196 
,,        Madeleine  of  (daughter   of 

Charles  VII.),  211,  214 
, ,        Margaret  of  (natural  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  VII.),  196 
,,        Margaret  of   (daughter    of 

King  Philippe  V.),  176 
,,        Yolande     of    (daughter    of 

Charles  VII.),  211,  214 
Harcourt,  Marie  of,  28 
Laval,  Franjoise  de  Dinan,  Countess 

of,  308 

Laval,  Yolande  of,  307 
Les  Baux,  Alix,  Countess  of,  319 

Cecile  of,  320 
„          Douce  of,  320 
„          Etiennette  of,  320 
,,          Jehanne  of,  319 
Lorraine,  Isabelle  of,  see  Queens 
Lorraine,    Margaret   of   Bavaria, 

Duchess  of,  see  Lorraine 
Lorraine,  Marie  of,  Dame  de  Soissons, 
95 


INDEX 


365 


PRINCESSES  (continued) : 

Luxembourg,  Blanche  of,  177 
Luxembourg,  Jehanne  of,  177 
Marche,  Jeanne  de  la,  259 
Provence,  Beatrix,  Countess  of,  216 
Vaudemont,  Anna,  Countess  of,  125, 

138 

Vaudemont,     Margaret     of  (grand- 
daughter of  King  Rene),  343 
Vaudemont,     Yolande    of     Anjou, 

Countess  of,  see  Vaudemont 
Wales,  Anne   Neville,   Princess  of, 

294-299 

"Wiirtemberg,  Sophie,  Countess  of,  95 
"  Priez  pour  la  Bonne  Jehanne,"  352 
Prisoner,  A  royal,  115,  116 
Progresses,  Royal,  33,  40,  44,  46,  47, 
62,  107,  127,  185,  269-271,  274,  296, 
319 

Quatrain,  A  royal,  179 
Queen  :  Bath  of,  242  ;  begs  alms,  247  ; 
borrows  a  farthing,  290 ;  bountiful, 
351  ;  dances  on  highway,  33  ;  day 
in  the  life  of  a,  242  ;  Epitaph  on  a, 
305  ;  "great,"  93, 141, 143, 150,  305  ; 
handiwork  of  a,  341  ;  heroic,  189, 
290  ;  intrepid,  253  ;  knighted,  285  ; 
last  words  of,  205  ;  leprous,  304 ; 
letters  of  a,  213,  244  ;  noblest  of 
France,  215  ;  of  beauty,  135,  309, 
311  ;  of  hearts,  42,  195  ;  of  Queens, 
310  ;  of  roses,  306  ;  prisoner,  232  ; 
robber  and,  288  ;  speech  of  a,  185, 
290  ;  state  entry  of  Queens,  35,  50, 
81,  103,  105,  106,  202,  257,  274,  317 
QUEENS : 

Blanche  of  Navarre-France,  334 
Bonne  of  Luxembourg-France,  44 
Catherine  of  Valois-England,  56,  65 
Charlotte  of  Savoy-France,  214,  286, 

294 

Constance  of  Clennont-Naples,  218 
Giovanna  I.  of  Naples,  217,  246 
Giovanna  II.  of  Naples,  66,  75,    89, 

116-121,  217-252,  333,  357 
Isabeau   of  Bavaria-France,  40,  51- 

59,  63-68,  177-186,  190,  206,  216, 

262 
Isabelle  of  Lorraine  -  Sicily  -  Anjou  - 

Naples,  77,  86-88,  90,  91,  94-142, 

166-169,    185,  193,  206,  239-259, 

264,  269-279,  280,  313-318,  338 
Jehanne  of  Laval-Sicily- Anjou,  135, 

203,  264,  291,  303,  306-356 
Margaret  of    Anjou  -  England,    85, 

125,   134-140,  244,  253-305,   310, 

313,  331,  336,  337 
Margaret  of  Savoy  -  Sicily  -  Aujou- 

Naples,  73,  89,  90,  122,  123,  130, 

139,  235,  237.  240-247  [220 

Margaret  of   Durazzo-Naples,    216- 


QUEENS  (continued)  : 

Margaret  of  Scotland-France,  203, 

205,  313,  314 

Margaret  of  Denmark-Scotland,  285 
Maria  of  Lusignan-Naples,  218 

,,      of  Sicily,  42 

Marie  of  Anj'ou-France,  58-64,  68- 
70,  82-85,  90,  91,  139,  158,   165, 
170,  173,  174-215,  236,  261,  264- 
266,  269,  286,  291,  313,  326,  342 
Marie  of  Chatillon  -  Sicily  -  Anjou- 
Naples,  39-41,  45,  47,  57,  58,  353 
Marie  of  Bourbon  -  Calabria  -  Cata- 
lonia, 91,  127,  134,  135,  204 
Marie  of  Enghien-Naples,  219     [98 
Yolanda  of  Bar-Aragon,  30,   35-47, 
Yolanda  of  Aragon  -  Sicily  -  Anjou- 
Naples,30-93,  98-104,112,117-121, 
127,  142,  150,  158-160,  166,  169, 
174-179,  185,  188,  197,  203,  207- 
209,   225,  236,  239,  243-247,  249, 
258,  263,  266,  307,  312,  319,  334, 
341 

Ransom,  A  King's,  65,  117,  118,  119 
"  Regnault  et  Jehanneton,"  23,  322-324 
Relics,  29,  333,  334 
REN£  OF  ANJOIJ,  King,  17-356 ;  titles 
of,  17,  101 ;  character  of,  18,  106  ; 
occupations  of,  18,  19, 120  ;  painter, 
20,      21  ;     miniaturist,      21,     22  ; 
writer    and    poet,    22,    23,   81  ;    a 
bosom  friend  of,  24  ;  letters  of,  25  ; 
patron   of  crafts,    26,   27  ;    accessi- 
bility   of,    27  ;    generosity  of,    28  ; 
devotion  to    relics,  29  ;   his    wine- 
cup,    29  ;    travels    of,    20  ;   tutors, 
77  ;    arms,    78  ;  marriages   of,   101, 
317  ;  in  prison,  88, 110,  112  ;  "  La 
Pucelle"  and,    149,  150,  151;  love 
of    nature,    213,   322;     his    heart, 
349  ;  signature,  356 
Rings,  49,  137,  219,  272,  335,  354 
"  Rose,  The  Golden,"  119,  342 
Roees    at    Christmas,    306,    316  ;    in 
Temple   Gardens,    306 ;    Queen    of, 
306  ;  showers  of,  226  ;  Wars  of  the, 
279-300 
Royal  hussy,  A,  257 

"  St.  Madeleine  preaching,"  21 

Sand,  Writing  in,  208,  209 

Sash,  Tripped  on  a,  128 

Scales,  The  Lady  Emma  de,  268 

Scapegoat,  A,  105 

"  Scourge  of  France,  The,"  68 

Sculptors :  Delia  Robbia,  20  ;    Pietro 

da  Milano,  316  ;  Francesco  Laurana, 

355 

Second  marriage  advocated,  316 
"  She  wolf,  The,"  299 
Silver  swans,  282 


366    REN^l  D'ANJOU  AND  HIS  SEVEN  QUEENS 


Sisters,  Unfortunate,  177 

Slanders,  84,  156,  191,  206,  207,  241, 

277,  278 

Snails,  Horns  of,  187 
Sorel,  Agnes,  91,   111,  170,  171,  178, 

182,  194-199,  255,  264 
"  Soul  and  Heart,"  a  dialogue,  318 
Stabbed  to  death,    196,  238 
Stories :    A    lost    diamond,    846  ;    a 

pathetic,    313  ;    a  pretty,  55,  208, 

209;    a       romantic,      225-235;     a 

tragic,  180,  181 

Tapestries,  Rich,  179,  185 
Taxes,  Queen  Yolande's,  76 
Tempests  at  sea,  271,  287,  296 
The  "Cokke  Johnne,"  271 
Theatre,  The  French,  265 
"  This  is  Queen  Margaret !"  299 
Three  Graces  of  Armagnac,  260 
Toast,  A  popular,  164 
"Too  much  blood  !"  131 
Tournaments,  135,  136,  139,  265,  308- 

312,  315.  329 

Tournament  prizes,  311,  312 
Tower,  In  the,  283,  290,  296,  299 
*'  Le  Tracte  des  Tournois, "  24 
Treachery,  282,  287,  297,  298 
Tribunal,  An  imperial,  119 
Tragedy,  Stories  of,  180,  181,  205,  206 
Troubadours,  31,  34,  35,  37,  46,  153, 

212,     256,     265,     274,     318,   329; 

maxims,    329  ;  royal,  34,  97,  268  ; 

Queen  of,  36,  42 
Troubadour  Laureates:   Eustacho  des 

Champs-Morel,  34  ;  Jehan  Durant, 

153  ;  Guillaume  de  Poitou,  329 
Troublous  times,  58,  59,  62,  64,  65, 

201,  202,  236,  237,  246,  248 
Trousseaux,  Royal,  32,  43,  49,  50,  266 
Tutors,  Royal :    Jan   Van  Eyck,  19  ; 

Jehan  de   Proviesey,    77  ;   Antoine 

de  la  Salle,  77,   288  ;  Philippe   de 

Leoncourt,  125  ;  Sir  John  Foi-tesque, 

292 

VATTD§MOKT,  Anna,  Countess  of,  125, 

138 

„  Antoine,  Count  of,  62, 
88,  104,  108,  109,  111- 
113,  119, 120,  138,  149, 
255,  260 

,,  Ferri,  Count  of,  113,  137, 
138,  215,  260,  263.  265, 
292,  303,  312,  328,  348 


VAUDE"MONT,  Margaret  of  (grand- 
daughter of  King  Rene), 
343 

,,  Rene,  Duke  of  Lorraine 
(grandson  of  King  Rene), 
336,  347,  348 

„  Yolande    d'Anjou,  Coun- 

tess of,  63,  70,  85,  87, 
113,  125,  134,  138,  140, 
244,  254-257,  260,  265, 
291,  292,  347,  348 

Venus  di  Milo.  48 

Village  gossip,  146 

Virago,   A   royal,   111-114,  124,  130, 
169,  192-200,  261,  275,  280 

Visconti.  see  Princes  [168 

"  Voices,"  The,  144,  145,  146,  158,  159, 

Volte  face,  A,  293 

Widow,  A  girl,  122,  129,  218 

Wife :    A  blind,  250  ;   a   stick   for  a, 

77  ;    A     much-enduring,    178  ;    an 

unfaithful,  180,  181 
Wine,  Delicious,  48,  211,  212,  213 
Winecup,  A  famous,  29 
Witchcraft,  177,  195 
"Woman,  Fortune  is  a,"   82;    very 

beautiful,    307  ;    threats  of  a,  84  ; 

A  gay,  37  ;  vampire,  222-227 
Women  :  Character  of,   45  ;   of  Aries, 

48  ;    of   Genoa,    128 ;    paramount, 

178  ;  gay,  159,  200,  206 
Word,  A  Duke's,  116 
Worldly-wise  canons,  200 
WRITERS  AND  CHRONICLERS  : 

Martial  d'Auvergne,  139 

Louis  de  Beau  van,  26 

Jean  Bourdigne,  58 

Philippe  de  Commines,  204,  314 

Viollet  le  Due,  163 

Neron,  F.  Faraglia,  242 

Louis  de  Grasse,  139 

Pierre  de  Hurion.  26 

Pierre  Mathieu,  18 

Enguerrand  de  Monstrelet,  187,  188, 
214 

Jehan  Pasquerelle,  85 

!Etienne  Pasquier,  111 

Jehan  de  Perin,  26 

Antoine  de  la  Salle,  258 

Jean  Juvenal  des  Ursins,  49,  50,  176 

Yolanda  d'Arragona,  see  Queens 
"You  may  go  !"108 
"  You  villains  !"  132 


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